The Mumbai Grapevine
Connecting Mumbaikars with Mumbai
(Published by Mumbai-Central.com)
Please feel free to forward this message to your friends and co-workers
who might be interested in it. The instructions to join the Mumbai
Grapevine are at the end of the message.
Shivani murder: Court convicts R K Sharma, 3 others
Souvik Sanyal
New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) Suspended Inspector General of Police Ravi Kant Sharma was today convicted for murder of Delhi journalist Shivani Bhatnagar by a city court which held him as the "main conspirator" in the sensational nine-year-old case.
In his 110-page judgement, Additional Sessions Judge Rajendra Kumar Shastri held there was strong circumstantial evidence, including records of telephone calls, that proved that Sharma (54), the Haryana cadre IPS officer, was the main conspirator and co-convict Pradeep Sharma, a former Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) clerk, was her "killer." Sharma and three others who were convicted today can face death penalty or life imprisonment. The quantum of sentence is likely to be pronounced on March 20.
During the sensational trial, Sharma's wife Madhu came out with an allegation that the late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan had a hand in the murder, a charge he had strongly refuted.
The court, however, refused to accept the prosecution's main theory on the motive behind the murder that the IPS officer plotted Shivani's murder as she had threatened to expose his alleged involvement in leaking classified documents to her while he was posted in the Prime Minister's Office.
At the same time, the court relied upon the prosecution's contention that the victim had "intimate" relations with R K Sharma, who wanted to end the relationship as she allegedly threatened to expose him.
Three other co-accused-- Sri Bhagwan Sharma, Pradeep Sharma and Satya Prakash -- were also held guilty under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy). Accused Ved Prakash Sharma and Ved Prakash alias Kalu were acquitted for want of evidence. PTI
Dalai to step down if situation gets out of control in Tibet
Dharamshala, Mar 18 (PTI) Asking Tibetans to show retraint, the Dalai Lama today said he will resign as leader of Tibet's government-in-exile if the situation in Lhasa and its neighbouring provinces got out of control.
"If Tibetans choose violence in their agitation, I shall resign from the leadership," the 73-year-old monk told reporters here.
The Tibetan spiritual leader said that during "the 1987-88 agitation also, I had stated that if Tibetan people adopt violence, then I shall not be in a position to lead them and that there shall be no other alternative for me but to resign.
"Today also I say that if Tibetans choose violence then the only option is to resign," he said.
The Dalai Lama, who rejected Beijing's allegations that he was behind the violence in Lhasa and adjoining areas, said he was not in a position to tell Tibetans living under Chinese rule as to what they should or they should not do.
Secretary to the top leader, Tenzin Talka later said there was no question of the Dalai Lama stepping down as the spiritual leader and that he would have to quit as the political leader if the Tibetans choose the path of violence. PTI
Policy of Salwa Judum needs to be relooked: ARC
New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) In view of the growing menace of Left wing extremism, mainly in Chhattisgarh, Administrative Reforms Commission has said the situation "continues to cause serious concern" and favoured a relook in the policy of 'Salwa Judum' (self-defence groups) in the state.
While Chhattisgarh tops the list of 11 States with maximum incidents and deaths due to naxal activities since 2003, the Commission chaired by Veerappa Moily, in its latest report, said even though there is a need to enhance the capacity of security forces to tackle naxalism, the government needs to formulate policies for infrastructure and social development in such disturbed areas.
Referring to 'Salwa Judum', the Commission in its seventh report titled "Capacity Building for Conflict Resolution" said, "the situation in the region has not been helped by raising of local resistance groups called Salwa Judum." It adds, "even though Salwa Judum is publicised as a spontaneous awakening of the masses against extremist, today thousands of tribals are protected in fortified camps pointing to disturbed life they are forced to lead."
The report mentioned that these camps have been attacked by extremists leading to several deaths and said, "in the process, the poor tribals have been caught between the legitimate sovereign power of the State and the illegitimate coercive power of the extremist who deliver instant justice through peoples' courts and other informal devices."
'Salwa Judum', an initiative supported by the State government had come in for criticism previously from various political as well as Human Rights Groups. PTI
Vishwanathan Anand jumps to sole lead
From our chess correspondent
Nice, (France) Mar 18 (PTI) World champion Viswanathan Anand jumped to the sole lead after playing a couple of draws with former world champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in the third round of the Amber blindfold and rapid chess tournament.
Anand took his combined tally to four points and is now half point ahead of nearest rivals Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine, Levon Aronian of Armenia, Magnus Carlsen of Norway and Topalov who all have 3.5 points apiece.
Sergey Karjakin of Ukraine and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov of Azerbaijan are next in line a half point behind and the latter was a show-stealer on the third day with a sensational victory over Kramnik from the black side of a rarely played Budapest Gambit in the rapid game.
Anand also leads the rapid section solely on 2.5 points. A half point clear of Aronian and Topalov while the blindfold section is headed by Ivanchuk, Calrsen and Russian Alexander Morozevich who all have 2 points in their kitty.
Eight rounds are still remaining in the tournament, which features one blindfold and one rapid game in each round.
Topalov and Anand had a theoretical discussion in one of the main lines of the Catalan Opening where the Indian played black. PTI
Gill meets Carvalho, former Olympians
New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) President KPS Gill today met chief coach Joaquim Carvalho and a few former Olympians here to discuss ways to put the game back on track after the team's failure to qualify for Beijing Olympics.
The meeting was attended by, among others, team manager R K Shetty and former Olympians MP Singh, Harmik Singh, Balbir Singh Sr, Baldev Singh, B P Govinda, M P Ganesh and Charles Cornelius.
Former captains Ajitpal Singh and Zafar Iqbal were also present at the meeting to discuss possible solutions to arrest the game's slide in the country.
Indian hockey plunged to a new low when the current team became the first ever to miss out on an Olympic berth since India's debut in 1928.
The team's debacle was blamed on poor administration and several greats like Ashok Kumar and Aslam Sher Khan had called for immediate resignation of Gill, who has been the IHF chief for the past 14 years. PTI
Proteas will "thump" India: CSA chief
Durban, Mar 18 (PTI) With the world's top ODI batsman -- Graeme Smith -- leading them, the South Africans are all set to "thump" India in the upcoming three-match Test series, feels Proteas' Cricket Board chief Gerald Majola.
Lauding the in-form Smith for guiding the team to the top of the ICC ODI rankings, Majola said the South Africans will be a tough proposition for the home side.
"Cricket South Africa (CSA) salutes Graeme on remarkable achievements at such a young age. Graeme's leadership qualities have really come to the fore, and CSA is confident that he will take the Proteas to the number 1 spot in Tests as well," Majola said in a statement.
"India beware in the forthcoming three match Test series which starts in Chennai next week. Graeme Smith and his boys are going to thump Anil Kumble and his charges," he added.
The 27-year-old Smith became the top ODI batsman displacing Sachin Tendulkar after a fine run of form in the series against Bangladesh. The CSA chief lavished praise on the left-hander for his remarkable form with the bat.
"At the age of 27, Graeme Smith has set several landmarks which put him among the best young captain/batsman yet produced in world cricket," he said.
"The Proteas, under Graeme's leadership, have finished the international season as the No.1 ODI team in world cricket and are looking to take second spot in the Test ratings," he added, lauding Smith's leadership.
Smith is the only South African with four Test double hundreds and he holds the world record for the highest first wicket partnership in Tests with Neil McKenzie -- 415 v Bangladesh at Chittagong. PTI
Markets recover in late morning trade despite weak Asian cues
Mumbai, Mar 18 (PTI) The stock markets showed signs of stability at lower levels as the Sensex recovered by 109 points in late morning deals after yesterday's heavy sell-off, despite weakness in Asian indices.
Taking a cue from weak Asian markets, the Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer opened lower at 14,725 and dropped to 14,677.24 before recovering to quote at 14,918.05 at 10.30 am, showing a rise of 108.56 points over yesterday's close.
The Sensex had tanked by a whopping 951 points yesterday, registering its second biggest fall in absolute term.
The broad-based S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also recouped by 53.65 points to 4,556.75 at 10.30 am from previous close of 4,503.10.
Dealers attributed recovery to hectic short-coverings by operators ahead of the long weekend holidays. The market will remain closed on Thursday and Friday on account of Id-E-Milad and Good Friday respectively.
According to market participants, the recovery might proved to be short-lived due only to short covering and there was not much buying interest as global drawback remained as it is and expected more selling in later part of the day.
Capital goods, refinery and power segments attracted good buying support. PTI
Govt to address concerns of rupee hit textile industry
New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) Acknowledging that the rupee appreciation has created some problems for exporters, the government today assured the textile industry of addressing all its legitimate concerns to generate more employment.
"I am aware that the strengthening of the rupee has created some strains for our exporters," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said today at the golden jubilee celebrations of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry.
He said the government would come forward and address all legitimate concerns of the textile industry as long as, "we can work together to generate more employment." However, the Prime Minister exuded confidence that the textile sector has the enterprise and business acumen to deal with the challenges posed by rupee appreciation and improve its competitiveness.
"Here too we have taken steps to help mitigate the laws of competitive advantage while ensuring that our external economic management is stable and sustainable." he said. PTI
ADB says no plans to sell stake in Petronet
New Delhi, Mar 18 (PTI) Asian Development Bank (ADB) today said it has no plans to sell its 5.2 per cent stake in Petronet LNG Ltd for which suitors like steel czar Lakshmi N Mittal and Chevron Corp of US were lining up.
"There is no internal regulations that prohibit ADB from being a debt financier as well as equity holder in the same company," ADB said in an e-mailed statement.
Petronet CEO and Managing Director Prosad Dasgupta had on February 26 stated that ADB was likely to exit Petronet by the year end as its internal regulations prohibited it from being a lender and an equity holder in the same company.
"ADB has not yet decided to sell Petronet shares," the multilateral lending agency said. "When and if ADB decides to do so, appropriate sales procedure will be followed." Dasgupta had stated that ADB was likely to sell its shares in Petronet after it along with German development bank KfW approved a 169-million dollar loan to Petronet for its expansion projects at Dahej and new terminal at Kochi.
The so-called internal regulations were cited by Dasgupta to also initiate dialogue with Mittal for getting the owner of world's largest steel manufacturing company into Petronet.
Dasgupta's comments on ADB exit had prompted its promoters to stake claim over the shares of the multilateral lending agency by virtue of their first right of refusal. First, GAIL India Chairman and Managing Director U D Choubey wanted to buyout the entire 5.2 per cent of ADB and then IOC Chairman Sarthak Behuria also laid a claim.
But since acquisition of even a single share by the public sector promoter firms would have turned Petronet into a state-run company, Behuria suggested selling the ADB stake to the public. PTI
Pak PM race: Fahim proposes Zardari, suspense to end by Mar 20
Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Mar 18 (PTI) As divisions remained over who would be Pakistan's next prime minister, PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari's name was proposed by initial front-runner and senior leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim and the prolonged suspense is set to end by Thursday.
The PPP, which is set to head the incoming coalition government, however had no problems today over Speakership with Zardari's close associate Fahmida Mirza poised to become the National Assenbly's first-ever presiding officer.
Mirza, 51,a three-time lawmaker from a political family of Sindh province, was expected to win as the PPP and its allies - PML-N, Awami National Party and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam have a majority in the National Assembly.
Fahim, who has expressed frustration that his nomination has not been announced, offered to stand aside for Zardari amid mounting speculation that the widower of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto wants the top job himself.
After meeting Zardari late last night, Fahim said he had proposed that the PPP chairman should become prime minister.
Asked by reporters if he was still a candidate for premiership, Fahim said: "I told him (Zardari) that he should be the candidate for the post of prime minister, and we will all support you. "I have made the proposal on my part, it is up to him to take a decision," he said.
There was no word from the party on Zardari's response to Fahim's proposal.
Senior PPP leader Syed Khurshid Ahmad Shah said the party's nominee for premiership will be announced by Thursday.
"The future prime minister will be announced by March 20. There are four to five candidates for the top slot and the final decision will be taken after consulting our coalition partners," he said. PTI
New Malaysian cabinet minus an Indian face
Jaishree Balasubramanian
Kuala Lumpur, Mar 18 (PTI) Ten days after regaining power with a dented majority, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today unveiled his new streamlined Cabinet line-up, sans a member of the ethnic Indian community.
Badawi who faced protests by the ethnic Indian community in Malaysia last year, could not induct a single face from the community in his cabinet this time as the lone ethnic Indian minister in his previous cabinet, Samy Vellu of Malaysian Indian Congress, a component of the ruling Barisan Nasional, received a drubbing in the polls along with top party bigwigs.
Vellu had held his Parliamentary seat since 1974.
Badawi, however, has retained one ministerial position for the Malaysian Indian Congress and four for its coalition partner, the Malaysian Chinese Association.
Flaying calls for stepping down owing to party's poor show, Badawi will continue to head the Finance portfolio.
The 68-year-old prime minister announced a downsized cabinet from the earlier 90 to 68 positions, dropping seven ministers who won in the general elections and inducting several new faces.
The premier said half the members of his administration were new faces and the line-up was drawn based on the spirit of power-sharing and camaraderie of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition party.
Among other ministries, Najib Tun Razak continued to be the country's deputy premier and Defence minister.
The Foreign Affairs portfolio was given to Dr Rais Yatim while Azlan Abu Bakar will be the deputy foreign minister.
Among the major casualities was long-serving Minister of International Trade and Industry, Rafidah Aziz, whose place has been taken by former Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Hj Muhyiddin Yassin. PTI
Pak set to have first woman Speaker
Rezaul H Laskar
Islamabad, Mar 18 (PTI) A close aide of PPP chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Fahmida Mirza, has been nominated by her party to be the Speaker of Pakistan's National Assembly that will make her the first woman to occupy the post.
Mirza, 51, a three-time lawmaker from a political family of Sindh province, was named by the Pakistan People's Party to the post of Speaker while Faisal Karim Kundi, who was personally groomed by slain PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto, was nominataed for the post of Deputy Speaker.
The two candidates are expected to win as the PPP and its allies - PML-N, Awami National Party and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam have a majority in the National Assembly.
The deadline for the filing of nomination papers for the two posts ended at noon today. Polling for the posts will be held through secret ballot at 11 AM tomorrow and the new Speaker will take charge the same day.
The nominations were made by PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari very late last night following weeks of consultations with the party's MPs and its allies.
Mirza is the wife of Zulfiqar Mirza, a member of the Sindh provincial assembly and a close aide of Zardari. She won in the February 18 polls from the coastal district of Badin.
Kundi, who was elected to the National Assembly for the first time, is a youngster who was close to Zardari's wife Bhutto, who was killed in a suicide attack on a pre-poll rally on Dec 27.
He defeated Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal secretary general Maulana Fazlur Rehman in the polls in the latter's traditional stronghold of Dera Ismail Khan.
The PPP, which emerged as the largest group with 120 seats in the 342-member House, is set to form government with its coalition partners. According to an agreement signed by the PPP and PML-N, the candidates for prime minister, speaker and deputy speaker will be from the PPP. PTI
China says still open to talks with the Dalai Lama
Beijing, March 18 (PTI) China today said it was still open to talks with the Dalai Lama so long as he recognised Tibet as a inalienable part of its territory even as it accused the Tibetan spiritual leader of inciting violence in Lhasa.
"The door of dialogue still opens to Dalai, so long as he gives up the position for "Tibet Independence", so long as he recognises Tibet and Taiwan as inalienable parts of the Chinese territory," Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said at his maiden press conference after being elected to a second five-year term.
Wen, who is the first top Chinese leader to speak on the violent protests against Chinese rule that erupted in Lahasa on Friday leaving at least 13 people dead, said the Dalai Lama's claim that China was engaged in "cultural genocide" in Tibet "is nothing but a lie".
"Since the peaceful liberation and especially the democratic reform, Tibet has moved forward and become more developed," Wen told reporters after the annual session of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature.
He said there was "plenty of evidence" to prove that the incident in Lhasa was "organised, premeditated, masterminded and instigated by the Dalai Lama clique". PTI
Manipur may re-impose Armed Forces Special Powers Act
Imphal, Mar 18 (PTI) Alarmed by heightened militancy the Manipur government has warned that it may re-impose the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Imphal municipal area if the law and order situation did not improve.
The AFSPA (1958) was withdrawn from seven assembly constituencies in municipal area following a series of agitations after the alleged rape and killing of a Manipuri woman Th. Manorama by security personnel in 2004 although the Act is still in force in remaining 53 assembly segments in the state.
"The government may even go to the extent of recommending re-imposition of the AFSPA in the seven assembly segments in the municipal area," Chief Minister O. Ibobi Singh said recently.
"If such incidents like the bomb attack on the Manipur assembly continue, there is no guarantee that the APFSA 1958 (which empowers security personnel to 'shoot any suspect even causing to the death') would not be re-imposed in the Imphal municipal area," Sing said.
Official sources say there has been sharp increase in the activities of the different militant groups particularly in four valley districts of Imphal East, Imphal West, Bishenpur and Thoubal in the past some weeks.
They say looting, kidnapping for ransom, extortion, killings of persons by militants have shown increase in recent weeks.
Manipur was also cut off from the rest of the country for about a week early this month as transporters cancelled all passenger bus services between Manipur and neighbouring states protesting against huge extortion demands by some militants.
Some militant outfits allegedly were demanding between Rs 500 to Rs 1000 per month per shop. PTI
Second shaadi: a hope for second timers
Ashwini Shrivastava
New Delhi, March 17 (PTI) While finding a spouse a second time might never have been easy to accomplish, people looking out for partners after having failed to find conjugal bliss in their first now have a reason to smile.
With matrimonial websites finetuning their services to provide personalised assistance to men and women looking to tie the knot yet again, finding partners a second time has just got easier.
Matrimonial websites are now offering their services exclusively to help widows/widowers, single, seperated and divorced individuals wanting to start a second innings anad are getting good response.
"We help people to overcome social, cultural and intra-personal apprehensions and start a new life. Our efforts are to eliminate the taboo associated with second marriage in India," says Ankur Warikoo,managing director secondshaadi.Com, a matrimonial website exclusively developed to help people in getting married for second time.
Revealing that as many as 35,000 people were already registered, Ankur says the website was drawing tremendous response across the country.
Considering the demand and need of the members, the website provides advanced search options that allows its members to search for suitable match using 19 different search criteria, so that the search can be specific, say the promoters.
"We also have counsellors to give personalised service round the clock to our members," Ankur says. PTI
Better infrastructure woos filmmakers to the Capital
Anurag Sharma
New Delhi, Mar 16 (PTI) It may have chaotic traffic andkiller blueline buses, the Capital, however, is fast becominga favourite place for movie producers thanks to the Metro,flyovers and its greenery.
Industry experts say that with recent infrastructuraldevelopments and growing demand for fresh story ideas, thecapital city is fast becoming a popular destination.
"Delhi has seen a sea change in the last five years as faras infrastructure development and production facilities areconcerned. Where would you shoot in Mumbai if you want newplaces? Delhi gives you some amazing sceneries. And with thegrowing demand of new ideas, filmmakers are looking at Delhias a new place to shoot," says Anand Kumar, Director of filmslike 'Jugaaad' and 'Delhi Heights'.
But Kumar adds that Delhi still has a long way to gobefore being compared with Mumbai. "The cost of shooting inMalaysia or Singapore is much less than that in Delhi and itsalso not easy to get permission to shoot and takes longertime. It still doesn't have the enough hardware to support thegrowing demand of ever-growing film industry," he says.
Scenes from films such as Sunday, Black and White,Jugaad, Dil Dosti Etc, Fanaa, Rang de Basanti (RDB), Khosla kaghosla, Ahista-Ahista and Delhi Heights, among others wereshot in the capital city.
Film critic Taran Adarsh says, "I think Delhi is one themost beautiful city in the world. And because it has not beenexplored to its potential like Mumbai, suddenly for newfilmmakers this modern city has become a place for givingshape to their new ideas. And nowadays, nobody cares about thecost, if the script demands outdoor shoot."
Old and New Delhi, both, give a visual treat to audienceswith its different tourist places like Red Fort, Qutub Minar,Jama Masjid, India Gate etc." PTI
___________________________________________________________
This is the Mumbai Grapevine
___________________________________________________________
______Market_______
To get regularly updated NIFTY (NSE) quotes by email, join the NSEData
mailing list by sending an email to NSEData-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To get regularly updated BSE quotes by email, join the BSEData mailing
list by sending an email to BSEData-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Sensex: 14833.46, +23.97
The sensex closed at 14833.46, up 23.97
___________________________________________________________
This is the Mumbai Grapevine
___________________________________________________________
______Forex_______
1 U.S. $ = 40.515 INR
1 Japanese Yen = 0.4159 INR
1 British Pound = 81.673 INR
1 Canadian $ = 40.659 INR
1 Singapore $ = 29.433 INR
1 UAE Dirham = 11.037 INR
1 Saudi Arabian Riyal = 10.818 INR
1 Euro = 64.085 INR
1 Qatar Rial = 11.131 INR
___________________________________________________________
This is the Mumbai Grapevine
___________________________________________________________