By Sheikh Qayoom, IANS,

Srinagar : It's a bizarre case of a concert becoming controversial in a land known for poets, singers and musicians for ages. But, those opposing the Sept 7 concert here of the Bavarian State Orchestra conducted by the India-born and world-renowned Zubin Mehta believe they have valid reasons to do so.

German ambassador to India Michael Steiner announced that the concert would be held in the famous Shalimar Garden on the banks of the Dal Lake. And, for a concert of this standing, Kashmir was expected to host a national and international audience of music lovers.

Normally, anybody who loves music or has even a remote sense of aesthetic appreciation would like to attend the concert for the sheer fame of the person conducting it.

Composes like Beethoven, Hayden and Tchaikovsky are not unheard of in Kashmir, although Western classical music definitely doesn't have many followers here.

"But, as world-famous sitar maestro Ravi Shankar once said, music has no language. It catches your imagination and holds you spellbound whether or not you understand the finer points", said a local singer/musician who did not want to be named for obvious reasons.

Kashmiri separatist leaders as also the local Grand Mufti and civil society members have opposed the Zubin Mehta concert for political reasons. The first statement against the concert came on expected lines from hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani, who said an international event like this would tends to give legitimacy to Indian rule in Kashmir.

Geelani also referred to an international cricket match in Kashmir between India and West Indies in 1983 when some locals stormed the field and had dug up the pitch to stop the match.

Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, the chairman of the moderate separatist Hurriyat group, said in his statement that instead of spending huge sums of money on holding the concert, the German ambassador would do better by trying to help education, healthcare and the other needs of the Kashmiri people.

Grand Mufti Basher-ud-Din, who had previously hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons for opposing an all-girls' music band, said holding the Zubin Mehta concert in a "disputed land would convey a wrong signal internationally...(that) Kashmiris have enough prosperity and leisure to attend an event like this".

Interestingly, the Grand Mufti said he had initially decided not to comment on the event, but had been approached by social and religious groups to speak on the issue as a religious head.

Civil society members said in a statement: "Germany must accept the disputed nature of Jammu and Kashmir and recognise the pain and legitimate political and legal struggle of its people."

Despite the opposition to the event, sources in the state government said it has been decided to hold the event anyway.

"Not holding the event after opposition from separatists would send out a disturbing signal. Well, the separatists would not want any cultural activity to be held in Kashmir as that is not part of their agenda", said a senior ruling National Conference leader here.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has so far maintained a discreet silence on the opposition to the concert.

Known otherwise for posting quick comments on his widely-followed Twitter site on separatist campaigns, Abdullah has steered clear of getting involved in a war of attrition with the separatists over the event.

Well, not many people believe Kashmir would explode in some sort of a violent frenzy if a musician conducts his orchestra in Kashmir. Nor does anybody believe that holding the concert would change the ground realities here.

(Sheikh Qayoom can be contacted at sheikh.abdul@ians.in)

By IANS,

Hyderabad : Hyderabad police will send a team to Bihar to question Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal in connection with twin bomb blasts here in February this year.

Bhatkal, who was arrested Wednesday night near the border with Nepal, is a key suspect in the Feb 21 blasts at Dilsukhnagar in Hyderabad that claimed 18 lives and injured scores.

Police Commissioner Anurag Sharma said Yasin and another suspected terrorist, Asadullah Akhtar, arrested along with him will be questioned by the police team about their involvement.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which along with Hyderabad police is probing the blasts, will also depute a team to Bihar.

"They will be examined and if their involvement is confirmed, they will be brought to Hyderabad for further investigations," the police chief told reporters.

He pointed out that the profiles of the two suspects seen in the CCTV footage before the blasts match with Bhatkal and Akhtar.

The two men were seen reaching the crowded area on bicycles to plant the explosives.

The NIA had announced a reward of Rs.10 lakh for any information leading to the arrest of the accused.

Sources said Bhatkal may also be questioned regarding the twin blasts of Aug 25, 2007 at Gokul Chat and Lumbini Park, in which 42 people were killed and many others injured.

It was Yasin's brother Riyaz Bhatkal, who allegedly planted the bomb at Gokul Chat. The blast at the popular eatery alone had claimed 32 lives.

Police hope the questioning would help them know further about the role played by Riyaz Bhatkal, who had lured the youth to carry out the blasts to avenge the May 18 blast carried out allegedly by Hindu militant organizations at the historic Mecca Masjid the same year.

A city court in Hyderabad Wednesday framed charges against four accused, all alleged operatives of Indian Mujahideen (IM), in Gokul Chat and Lumbini Park blasts case.

A few relatives of some of the victims of Dilsukhnagar blasts and the locals gathered at the blast site and raised slogans, demanding death penalty for the accused.

Police tightened security in Hyderabad as a precautionary measure in the wake of Bhatkal's arrest. Additional security arrangements were made in sensitive areas, vital installations and crowded public places.

By IANS,

Arrested Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal is suspected to be involved in a number of lethal bombings and terror strikes of which the most prominent are:

* Nov 23, 2007: Six consecutive blasts in Uttar Pradesh. More than 15 people killed.

* May 13, 2008: A series of nine synchronised bombs explode in Jaipur within a span of 15 minutes. Sixty people killed and over 200 injured.

* July 25: A series of nine bombs explode in Bangalore. Two people killed and 20 injured.

* July 26: Ahmedabad rocked by 21 bomb blasts within a span of 70 minutes. Fiftysix people killed and over 200 injured.

* Sep 13: A series of five bomb blasts rock Delhi, killing 30 people and injuring over 100.

* Feb 13, 2010: A bomb explodes at the German Bakery in Pune, killing 17 people and injuring over 60.

* Sep 19: Two gunmen on a bike fire at Taiwanese tourists near Delhi's Jama Masjid injuring two people. A few hours later a car parked around 150 metres from the firing spot catches fire due to the impact of a minor blast.

* Dec 7: A bomb blast in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi city kills a minor girl and injures over 30 people.

* July 13, 2011: A series of three coordinated bomb explosions in Mumbai kill 26 people. Over 136 people injured.

* Feb 21, 2013: Two bomb blasts at Dilkushnagar in Hyderabad kill 17 people and injure over 100.

* July 7: A series of 10 bombs explode in and around Mahabodhi Temple complex in Bodh Gaya in Bihar, injuring five people.

By IANS,

New Delhi : Minister of State for Home Affairs R.P.N. Singh Thursday said it was a great day as the most wanted terrorist and Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal was arrested from the India-Nepal border.

"Our intelligence agencies have done a remarkable work by arresting one of India's most wanted terrorist Yasin Bhatkal. We got some kind of success with arrest of Tunda (alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba operative Abdul Karim Tunda), but today is a great day since we have arrested IM co-founder Bhatkal," Singh said.

"His (Bhatkal) arrest is very important for us because he was involved in bomb blasts around the country," Singh said.

Earlier, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said Bhatkal was arrested by intelligence agencies on the India-Nepal border.

Bhatkal is allegedly involved in blasts in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Pune and Surat, among other places.

By IANS,

Bangalore : The Karnataka Police are sending a team to Bihar to question arrested Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal for his alleged involvement in the Bangalore twin blasts in 2008 and 2010, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said Thursday.

"We are sending a police team to Bihar, where Bhatkal was brought (late Wednesday) after his arrest on the India-Nepal border. Our team will seek his custody to interrogate him in connection with the blasts in Bangalore," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.

The 30-year-old terror suspect, also known as Ahmed Siddibapa, hails from Bhatkal coastal town in Uttara Kannada district near Mangalore, about 350 km from here, police said.

Bhatkal is one of the most wanted terrorists in the country for his alleged role in serial blasts in many cities and towns over the last six-seven years.

"Our state intelligence sleuths were part of the NIA (National Intelligence Agency) team, which arrested Bhatkal, as their services were sought to identify him and verify his background," Siddaramaiah claimed.

Bangalore Police Commissioner Raghavendra Auradkar said his department was in touch with the federal intelligence agencies for details on Bhatkal's arrest and to ascertain when he would be made available to the state for investigation.

"We will seek Yasin's custody so that he could be brought to Bangalore soon for interrogation in the city's twin blasts," Auradkar told reporters.

One woman died in serial blasts that rocked the city July 25, 2008 and 15 people, including five security men, were injured in the twin blasts near the M. Chinnaswamy cricket stadium April 17, 2010 an hour prior to a T20 match of the Indian Premier League tournament.

"It is too early to comment on when Bhatkal would be brought to Bangalore for investigations," Auradkar said.

By IANS,

New Delhi : Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, who was arrested from India-Nepal border early Thursday, tops the Delhi Police's list of 15 most wanted terrorists involved in bombings across the country, said a police officer here.

Bhatkal, 30, whose real name is Ahmed Siddibapa, was one of the most wanted men in India and virtually the backbone of the Indian Mujahideen's (IM) network.

The terror suspect hails from the Bhatkal coastal town in Uttara Kannada district near Mangalore, about 350 km from Karnataka's capital Bangalore.

His name topped the list of 15 most wanted terrorists prepared by Delhi investigators, who have now turned their focus on arresting the 14 others.

"Bhatkal is the one whose name has been put on top of the list of 15 most wanted IM terrorists," said a Delhi police officer.

The officer said Bhatkal operated under various names - Mohammad Zarrar, Ahmed, Imran, Asif and Shah Rukh - and was the only founding member of the IM who was active in the country.

Bhatkal, along with his cousins Riyaz, Iqbal Bhatkal and four others, had formed the IM. Both Riyaz and Iqbal are suspected to be in Pakistan, said the police officer.

The other terror suspects in the Delhi Police top-15 list are: Tehsin alias Monu, Ariz alias Junaid, Asad Ulla Akhtar alias Haddi, Ikbal Bhatkal (Bada Bhai), Riyaz Bhatkal (chhota bhai), Mirza Sahdaab Baig alias Malik, Mohammad Khalid alias Khodi, Mohammad Sajid alias Bada Sajid, Dr. Shahnawaz, Abu Rashid, Alam Zeb Afridi, Amir Raza Khan, Abdul Suhan Qureshi and Yasin alias Saif, said the officer.

The list was prepared after the questioning of terror suspects arrested in 2011, he said.

Police said Bhatkal played an active role in almost all terror attacks in the country between November 2007 and July this year, including the Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune and Bodh Gaya blasts.

By IANS,

Bangalore : Arrested Indian Mujahideen (IM) co-founder Yasin Bhatkal's father Zarar Siddibapa Thursday said he was relieved that his 30-year-old son was alive and not killed in any staged shootout as feared earlier by his family.

"We are extremely relieved to know through the media that our son Ahmed Siddibapa is alive and in police custody as we feared earlier that he would have been eliminated in a fake encounter long ago," Siddibapa told IANS from Bhatkal, a small town on the west coast of Karnataka, about 400 km from Bangalore.

Expressing full faith in the judiciary, Siddibapa said his eldest son Ahmed should be punished if found guilty of any offence after the due process of law was followed.

"Till then, the cardinal principle that every person is innocent until proved guilty should be followed," Siddabapa said.

Clarifying that his son's name is Ahmed, Siddibapa wondered why police and the media had been referring to him (Ahmed) as Yasin though there is no evidence contrary to his original name.

"Ahmed was born here (Bhatkal) in January 1983 and studied up to Class 10. Later, he joined me in Dubai in 2005 where I have a business. He disappeared from Dubai in January 2007 and has not been in touch with us since then," Siddibapa recalled.

Regretting that a lot of falsehood was being spread in a section of media against his eldest son, Siddibapa said his second son Samad, 26, was arrested in 2010 by the Mumbai anti-terror squad in connection with some terror incidents but was set free 40 days later as he had no connection with any terror organsiation.

"We are confident that Ahmed too will be proved innocent and set free soon. We have faith in our courts and the rule of law," Siddibapa said.

Asked if he would go to Bihar or Delhi to meet his son, Siddibapa said he had not thought about it yet and would engage a lawyer to ascertain how to go about securing Ahmed's release.

"There is no official intimation to us about Ahmed's arrest. It is only through news channels and media persons we have learnt about his arrest from the India-Nepal border and that he was presently in Bihar Police custody," Yasin's uncle Yaquib Siddibapa told IANS.

Yaquib also clarified that the other two terror suspects Riyaz Bhatkal and Iqbal Bhatkal were not related to Ahmed alias Yasin.

"They are two separate families. We don't know much about Riyaz or Iqbal except that they hail from Bhatkal and are said to be brothers. Many people from this small town have 'Bhatkal' as surname just to relate and identify them when living away," Yaquib said.

Located in Uttara Kannada district of the state, Bhatkal has a population of 1.5 lakh population, with farming and fishing as main occupation of the minorities and the majority community.

By IANS,

New Delhi : The Delhi Police will seek the custody of arrested Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal in connection with three cases, including the 2008 serial blasts in the city.

"His involvement has surfaced in the 2008 serial bombings, firing on a stationary bus in Jama Masjid and running of an arms factory in Nangloi," a Delhi Police officer told IANS.

Bhatkal, who was arrested Wednesday night near the border with Nepal, is a key suspect in the 2008 serial bombings in central Delhi's Connaught Place, Gaffar Market and south Delhi's Greater Kailash, which claimed 26 lives and injured 133 people.

Police said he was a planner and executor of the 2008 Delhi serial bombings.

Till 2008, Delhi Police's special cell, who have busted the Indian Mujahideen's (IM) various modules, knew him as Shah Rukh who lived in Delhi for one year. In Delhi, before the executions he motivated several youths for terror activities, investigators said.

Non-bailable warrants were issued against him in one case, police said.

Bhatkal was also wanted in the case related to running an arms factory by Indian Mujahideen in west Delhi's Nangloi. He was allegedly manufacturing pistols and other arms and ammunition, police said.

Police raided the factory in November 2011 and arrested around 16 members of IM from various parts of the country.

Bhatkal is also wanted in the firing on a stationary bus near Jama Masjid in central Delhi Sep 19, 2010, injuring two foreign tourists.

By IANS,

Mumbai : A team of Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad Thursday left for Delhi to interrogate and possibly secure the custody of Indian Mujahiddeen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal in connection with various terror cases in the state.

Hailing Bhatkal's arrest as "a big success for the intelligence agencies," Home Minister R.R. Patil said Bhatkal was wanted in eight cases in the state, including the Feb 13, 2010 Pune German Bakery bombing.

"The legalities to gain custody of Bhaktal are in progress. While gaining custody may take some time, the state ATS has decided to send a team so that interrogation of Bhatkal can be initiated. The (ATS) team will also help the intelligence agencies in the investigations," Patil said.

In February 2013, the ATS had announced a reward of Rs.1 million for four terrorist suspects including Sharukh alias Mohammed Ahmad Zarar alias Siddhibapa alias Imran alias Yasin Bhatkal.

The ATS had also released sketches prepared from the hazy CCTV footage procured from the July 2011 Mumbai triple blasts in Dadar, Opera House and Zaveri Bazaar.

By IANS,

Patna : A Bihar court Thursday granted the NIA three-day transit remand of Yasin Bhatkal, Indian Mujahideen co-founder wanted for a string of bombings, and another suspected terrorist Asadullah Akhtar for taking them to Patna and New Delhi.

Chief Judicial Magistrate in Motihari, district headquarters of East Champaran district, accepted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) plea and allowed them to take Bhatkal and Akhtar along with them for the probe, a police official said.

A police official said: "Under unprecedented security, both of them will be taken to Patna, where they will be lodged at an unknown place before being taken to Delhi."

Bihar Police chief Abhayanand told IANS that the arrest of Bhatkal was a big catch. "His arrest will reveal many things about the network of terror and their operations across the country," he said.

Bhatkal and Akhtar were arrested from the India-Nepal border early morning, police said.

A team of Bihar Police along with the NIA arrested Bhatkal and Akhtar, Additional Director General of Police Ravinder Kumar told reporters here.

By IANS,

New Delhi : A lecture on jehad he attended at an engineering college in his hometown Bhatkal in Karnataka triggered the emotions of 19-year-old Yasin Bhatkal. Four years later, he formed a group and unleashed mayhem killing hundreds in bombings across India, officials said Thursday after he was nabbed from the Indian-Nepal border.

Born Jan 15, 1983, Bhatkal’s original name is Mohammed Zarar Ahmed Siddhibappa and he hails from Uttara Kannada district, about 400 km from Karnataka's capital Bangalore.

Possessing an aggressive nature, Bhatkal, police said, was radicalized following the US invasion of Afghanistan after the 9/11 terror attack on the US and the communal riots of Gujarat in 2002.

Passionate about jehad, Bhatkal would often visit the library of the engineering college to read up on Islamic books and texts, especially those that talked about holy war.

It was in October 2002 that he attended a lecture by Maulana Shish, a motivational speaker believed to be based in Pakistan, police said.

An emotionally stirred Bhatkal personally met Shish, who further radicalized his thoughts and convinced him to wage war against the Indian state and its people, officials added.

In 2007, he co-founded the Indian Mujahideen along with six others.

The group unleashed havoc across India with a spate of bombings. One of the more famous targets was the German Bakery in Pune where 17 people died in 2010.

The group was also blamed for nine synchronised explosions in Jaipur that killed 60 people and the Delhi bomb attacks the same year in which 30 people perished.

The young man came to Delhi in 2008 and married in south Delhi’s Jamia Nagar area. Weeks later, the bomb blasts took place.

His father-in-law too was arrested for being involved in a separate terrorist activity.

The Indian government declared the Indian Mujahideen a terrorist outfit in 2010.

One of his associates, Mohd Fasih, who was involved in the Chinnaswamy Stadium blast in Bangalore and the shooting of Taiwanese tourists near the Jama Masjid in Delhi (both in 2010), was arrested in October last year.

Bhatkal had befriended Fasih at the engineering college and brainwashed him, police added.

One of the most wanted men in India and virtually the backbone of the Indian Mujahideen network, he was on the run for the past five years and took refuge in countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan.

By IANS,

Lucknow: A team of anti-terror squad (ATS) of the Uttar Pradesh police left for New Delhi late Thursday to interrogate Indian Mujahideen (IM) co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, officials said.

Bhatkal who was arrested from the India-Nepal border Thursday is wanted in the Sheetla Ghat blasts in Varanasi in 2010 and the police will seek his transit remand, an official said.

Another terrorist arrested with Bhatkal, Asadullah Akhtar alias 'Haddi', also a resident of Azamgarh, however is not wanted in any case in Uttar Pradesh.

Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) R.K. Vishwakarma told IANS that serial blasts had rocked Varanasi's Sheetla Ghat Sep 7, 2010 during the evening Ganga aarti, killing three and injuring many.

IM had claimed responsibility of the blasts through an e-mail, the official added.

"Since he was out of the hands of law, there has been no evidence against him so far. But we propose to interrogate him now and bring him to UP for interrogation," officials said.

Bhatkal's accomplice Asadullah is a resident of Baj Bahadur locality in Azamgarh and has no case registered against him in UP.

By IANS,

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has ordered a fresh probe as it was not satisfied with the written reply given by suspended IAS official Durga Shakti Nagpal to the chargesheet served on her.

Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav late Thursday night appointed Principal Secretary (home) R.M. Srivastava as the inquiry officer in the case and called for a report within the next 15 days.

Another official of the home department will assist him.

Officials told IANS that in her response, submitted last week to the government, Nagpal had stuck to her earlier stand that she had done no wrong.

In her reply, Nagpal had also said that the boundary wall of the under-construction mosque at Kadalpur village in Gautam Budh Nagar was being built on Gram Sabha land and not on private land.

Officials said that authorities concerned had studied Nagpal's response after which the chief minister decided to order a fresh probe to "get to the bottom of the episode".

Nagpal was suspended as sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) July 27, attached with the state revenue board and served a charge sheet Aug 4.

The UP government in the charge sheet had accused her of taking a hasty administrative decision that lacked foresight and imperiled communal harmony in the region.

By IANS,

Patna: Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal was restless and spent a sleepless night at a high security zone here, officials said.

Yasin Bhatkal, wanted by police in twelve states for alleged involvement in a string of bombings and other terror activities in the last five years, was arrested from the India-Nepal border Thursday. He was arrested along with Asadullah Akhtar, his terror accomplice.

After they spent a sleepless night, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) sleuths early Friday interrogated Yasin Bhatkal and Asadullah Akhtar.

Both will be taken to Delhi by special plane after a Bihar court Thursday granted the NIA three-day transit remand, police officials said.

"Both of them hardly slept at night, talked rarely but they ate food and drank adequate water...," said a police official.

According to another police official, Bhatkal was more restless than Akhtar at night.

"A team of NIA officials interrogated Bhatkal and Akhtar at the high security Bihar Military Police camp in Patna since early Friday after they spent night here," a police official said.

He said that both were brought from Motihari in East Champaran district and they will be taken to Delhi.

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

Lucknow: As the Rihai Manch dharna completed 100 days on August 29, demonstrators marched to the Uttar Pradesh Assembly demanding justice for Khalid Mujahid.

Since May 20 Rihai Manch (Forum for the Release of Innocent Muslims imprisoned in the name of Terrorism) is on indefinite dharna demanding arrest of police officers involved in Khalid Mujahid's murder, issuing the RD Nimesh commission report and action report, and the immediate release of innocent Muslim youth imprisoned in the name of terrorism.

Well known senior journalist Subhash Gatade, who was participated in the march said that the Samjwadi Party will have to face the consequences of not keeping the poll promises made to the minorities.

Khalid Mujahid’s uncle Maulana Zahir Alam Falahi expressed his gratitude to the Rihai Manch activists and thanked them for creating and mobilizing a sustained movement against false terror cases after the ‘martyrdom’ of Khalid. He said that the reverbations of the movement that began from UP can now be felt across the country.

Family members of Tariq Qasmi, including his nine year old son, who was only two years old at the time of his arrest, were also present and spoke on the occasion. Tariq was arrested along with Khalid and is still in jail.

Several other activists and leaders were present to express their solidarity on the 100th day of the indefinite dharna.

Khalid had died under mysterious circumstances on his way back from Faizabad near Ram Sanehi Ghat on May 18. He was declared brought dead by the doctors at district hospital in Barabanki. Later, on the complain of his uncle Zahir Alam Falahi, a case was registered against 42 police officers including former DGP Vikram Singh, ADG Brijlal and others who were on duty during the time of Khalid's arrest.

Khalid along with Tariq Qasmi was arrested by Special Task Force (STF) on 20 December 2007 from Barabanki. Huge explosives were also shown as recovered from his possession. STF claimed that he was involved in the serial blasts which occurred in Gorakhpur, Faizabad and Lucknow. Later, Nimesh Commission was constituted headed by Justice R D Nimesh who in its report raised fingers over STF's claim about the place of arres.

Khalid’s family and civil society groups are demanding CBI probe into Khalid’s custodial death and has compared his case with the fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan by the Gujarat Police. They have also questioned the role of the IB.

Rihai Manch is leading a sustained demonstration against the UP government for 100 days now demanding actions on its poll promise of releasing innocent youths languishing in jails in fabricated terror charges. Several rights groups and and politicians, including CPIM leaders Prakash Karat, Mohammad Salim, Subhasini Ali, Welfare party leaders Mujtaba Farooque and SQR Ilyas, film makers Anand Patwardhan and Anusha Rizvi, senior journalists Subhash Gatade, Anil Chamadia, among others have also expressed their solidarity with the Manch demonstration and on different days made token participation.

Okhla MLA Asif Mohammad Khan joined Congress few days ago, Firoz Bhakt, Irfanullah Khan join AAP.

By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,

New Delhi: As the Delhi Assembly elections near, leaders, and erstwhile activists wanting to leap over political leaderships are are flanking one party or another.

Political parties are also wooing Muslim leaders better their chance. Along with Singer Daler Mehdi, Ram Singh, MLA of Bahujan Samaj Party and Ram Singh Bidhuri, a former Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) legislator, and V K Monga, Okhla MLA Asif Mohamamd Khan joined the Congress party in presence of Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit and other leaders few days ago.

Khan had contested the last Assembly elections in the heat of the Batla House encounter as an independent candidate on high pitch emotional rhetoric against the Congress government, but lost marginally. He, however, won the by-elections on same high pitch on the Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD) ticket in in 2009.

Now in a programme at the Constitution Club social activist Firoz Bhakt Ahmed, grandson of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, and former Aligarh Muslim University Students’Union President, Irfanullah Khan, along with several other Jamia Millia Islamia and AMU alumni joined Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on August 29.

AAP has been desperately looking for some Muslim leaders to contest the upcoming Assembly elections, although they claimed to rise above appeasement politics. Of the 44 shortlisted candidates of AAP, only 4 are Muslims, including woman face of AAP and journalist Shazia Ilmi (RK Puram), besides Mohd Samiyuddin (Malviya Nagar), Shakeel Ahmed Abbasi and Sohail Solahuddin (Matia Mahal). An AAP delegation, led by Arvind Kejriwal, also visited the headquarter of Welfare Party of India in Delhi.

Irfanullah Khan, who is also Chairman of Jamia Nagar Coordination Committee, is slated to contest elections from the Okhla constituency, although according to reports several grassroots volunteers have been opposed to his candidature on technical grounds.

By TCN News,

New Delhi: Beti Bachao Abhiyan (BBA), a joint platform of more then 50 well known social movements and organisations in country, has decided to give six awards every year for promoting and bringing on front people who are working in the field.

BBA is seriously working on the issue of female infanticide through social awareness and working with masses on grass roots, as well as active legally and politically. In their own words, Beti Bachao Abhiyaan concerns with female rights from conception in womb to the adulthood.

The six catagories are named as Nirbhaya, Savitri Bai Phule, Rani Laxmi Bai, and three others as Beti Bachao Star. Nirbhaya was the name given to the brave girl who was gang raped in Delhi in December, 2012 , who later sucumbed to injuries in hospital in Singapore.

These Awards do not have any financial value, but have been set up to recognize some of the unsung heroes, and those who have performed substantial service .

Details of Beti Bachao Aabhiyan nominations for the following six annual awards, 2013:

1- Nirbhaya award : Award for social awareness is meant for individuals (and organizations), that have performed substantial servic

2-Savitri Bai phule : Award for educational empowerment

3.Rani Laxmi Bai : for political empowerment Award is given to individuals (and organizations), that have performed meritorious work political empowerment of women s

4- Beti Bachao Star 2013-1 male - do exemplary work by spreading awareness among people about preventing female infanticide by their unique creativity.

5- Beti Bachao Star 2013-1 female - do exemplary work by spreading awareness among people about preventing female infanticide by their unique creativity.

6- Beti Bachao Star 2013 ,for doctor who promote prevention of female infanticide and do exemplary work in their respective field.

Note: Self-nominations are not acceptable.

These Awards do not have any financial value. They have been set up to recognize some of the unsung heroes, and those who have performed substantial service .

Nominees as well as the nominators may be from any part of the country

Each nomination must include ALL the details listed below. Incomplete nominations will not be accepted.

Current/valid email addresses for the nominator as well as the nominee are required, since all correspondence with the nominator and the nominee will be ONLY by email.

A. ABOUT NOMINATOR

1. Name, email address and complete postal/mailing address
2. Brief information about the nominator's work, if any
3. Duration of time for which the nominator has known the nominee and the nature of the nominator's relationship with the nominee

B. ABOUT NOMINEE

1. Name, email address and complete postal/mailing address of the nominee

2. The award for which the nominee is being nominated
3. Details about the nominee's work, and the ways accuracy of this information can be verified
4. Brief description of the nominee's education, work and other achievements.
5. Any other relevant information about the nominee.

Please send nomination before October 30, 2013, by email ONLY to peaceglobal@gmail.com

After Abhiyan has reviewed the nominations and selected the finalists, all the nominees and the nominators will be informed by email, around mid November 2013

If, when, and where possible Awards will be presented to the successful candidates at a special ceremony, failing which the awards will be sent to them by mail.

Best wishes,
Beti Bachao Abhiyan

Spokesperson : Himanshu Sharma

Contact : 09313106745,0941453482

By TCN News,

Aligarh: Ten students of the Senior Secondary School (Boys), Aligarh Muslim University have qualified in the written test of National Defence Academy (NDA). They will now go through an interview, scheduled to be held in September 2013.

AMU Vice Chancellor, Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Zameer Uddin Shah, after joining AMU, initiated the senior secondary school students to prepare for the coveted examination. He also extended all help to start a dedicated coaching programme run by UGC Academic Staff College at the Senior Secondary School (Boys).

The Vice Chancellor, Gen. Shah will felicitate the successful students in a programme scheduled for September 2 at 12:20 pm at the Senior Secondary School (Boys).

By IANS,

Patna : National Investigation Agency (NIA) chief Sharad Kumar has directed that the probe into the blasts at Bodh Gaya's Mahabodhi temple be speeded up after no headway was made even 50 days after the incident, a police officer said Friday.

Sharad Kumar, who visited the temple Thursday and met top officials of Bihar Friday, said that NIA would come out with a solid clue in the terror incident soon.

"Sharad Kumar asked the NIA officials as well as state police to...speed up the probe," a police official said.

Kumar is on two day visit to Bihar, his first after the serial bomb explosions at Bodh Gaya temple on July 7.

His visit coincided with the arrest of Yasin Bhatkal, Indian Mujahideen co-founder wanted for a string of bombings, and another suspected terrorist Asadullah Akhtar from India-Nepal border at Raxaul in Bihar's East Champaran district Thursday.

According to police officers in Bodh Gaya, about 110 km from here, the NIA chief also held a meeting with the officials probing the blasts.

"He told them to keep a close eye over the role of both left (wing) and right (wing) extremists groups in the explosions," officials said.

Ten bombs exploded in Bodh Gaya in which two Buddhist monks were injured. Three live bombs were recovered and defused.

"NIA team is studying the hundreds of mobile phone calls made from the temple premises and adjacent localities before and after the serial bomb explosions," a district police official said.

The NIA team is taking help of data available with mobilephone towers.

According to district police officials, the NIA team is camping in Bodh Gaya for last few days to trace the active mobile phones July 6 night and early July 7.

"The NIA officials are also trying to identify suspected SIM card holders and from where they were issued," police said.

Two suspects from Darbhanga district have been detained in connection with the blasts.

Earlier, sketches of five suspects in the July 7 serial bomb explosions were released.

NIA investigators have questioned some local people, including officials of the temple management and shopkeepers.

A special court has been established in the Patna civil court to hear the serial bombings case, said an official who is assisting the NIA's probe.

Maoists have denied involvement in the blasts. Bihar Police officers had suspected their role in the bombings.

The NIA initially detained six people but released them after questioning.

By IANS,

New Delhi : Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, one of the country's most wanted men, was Friday sentenced to 12 days' custody of the NIA to unravel the terrorist infrastructure he helped to build.

NIA special judge I.S. Mehta sent another Indian Mujahideen operative, Asadulla Akhtar alias Haddi, also to 12 days' National Investigation Agency custody till Sep 10.

Bhatkal and Akhtar, arrested from the India-Nepal border, were presented in a Delhi court after they were flown from Bihar on transit remand. Both were hooded and produced in the court under tight security.

Arrested Wednesday night, Bhatkal tops the Delhi Police list of 15 most wanted terrorists involved in bombings across the country.

He is a key suspect in the 2008 serial bombings in Delhi's Connaught Place, Gaffar Market and Greater Kailash areas which claimed 26 lives and injured 133 people.

During an in-camera proceedings, NIA, the premier investigating agency for terrorist cases, sought 14 days remand of both the IM operatives.

It said their custody was needed to "unearth the larger conspiracy" behind terror attacks and to get leads to arrest 10 more terror suspects absconding from the law, informed sources said.

Both the accused are also to be taken to various places in and outside Delhi, the NIA said.

The defence counsel opposed the 14 days remand and claimed that the accused produced before the court was Mohmmad Ahmed and not Yasin Bhatkal.

According to informed sources, defence counsel also contended that there was no material evidence against the two accused.

NIA, seeking custody of both, also submitted that the agency has filed charge sheet against five other accused July 17 in a case to hatch conspiracy to carry out terror strikes in the country and non-bailable warrants had been issued against them for Sep 30.

On July 17, NIA filed its charge sheet in a Delhi court against five suspected operatives of terror outfit IM.

The charge sheet was filed under various penal provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the IPC relating to conspiracy to commit certain offences against the state.

In the charge sheet, Bhatkal was named among the "principal conspirators" and "executors" of various terror attacks in India.

Bhatkal and Akhtar were mentioned as absconders among 10 others in the charge sheet by the NIA.

Bhatkal, 30, whose real name is Ahmed Siddibapa, was one of the most wanted men in India and virtually the backbone of the Indian Mujahideen's (IM) network.

The terror suspect hails from the Bhatkal coastal town in Uttara Kannada district near Mangalore, about 350 km from Karnataka's capital Bangalore.