CURRENT TOPICS

At least 12 people were killed when a chimney at the under-construction 1,200 MW thermal power plant at the Bharat Alumnium Co Lt (BALCO) premises collapsed. Many labourers are injured and some more are feared trapped under the debris,” SP Ratanlal Dangi said, adding that rescue work was on

The mishap occurred when labourers were working on the chimney,

‘It’s a massive accident that has claimed at least 15 lives. We have launched a rescue and relief operation to save about 50 workers and engineers trapped under the collapsed chimney’s debris,’ district Superintendent of Police Ratanlal Dangi told IANS on phone.

The state government instructed the district collector and superintendent of police to

register a first information report (FIR) against the Balco management for allegedly overlooking security aspects and announced a judicial probe into the accident.

Rajiv Gandhi was killed by a suicide bomb at an election rally in May 1991. India has always blamed the attack on Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels.

Sriharan was convicted for being part of the assassination squad.

She was one of four people initially given a death sentence, for being part of the plot to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi.

At least 14 other people – including the suicide bomber – were also killed in the attack.

Sriharan’s sentence was commuted to a life term, following a plea for clemency by Rajiv Gandhi’s widow and Congress Party president, Sonia Gandhi.

She has served more than 18 years in Vellore prison. She claims she is only required to serve 14 years in prison before being entitled to premature release under Indian laws.

Sriharan began her “indefinite” fast on Monday morning, demanding that an advisory board to decide on her release be set up as soon as possible.

In 2006, the Tamil Tiger rebels expressed “regret” for the murder of Rajiv Gandhi in a move which correspondents say was a realisation by the rebels that the assassination was a huge mistake.

Our Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says India is losing the battle against Maoist rebels. Mr Singh told a meeting of police chiefs from different states that rebel violence was increasing and the Maoists’ appeal was growing. The rebels say they are fighting for the rights of the poor. They operate in a large swathe of territory across central India, and in some areas have almost replaced the local government. More than 6,000 people have been killed during their 20-year fight for a communist state.

Admitting that the government had “not achieved much success” in containing left wing extremism, which he described as the “gravest internal security threat”, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday also maintained that infiltration through various routes was going up.
“I have consistently held that in many ways, left-wing extremism poses perhaps the gravest internal security threat our country faces,” Mr Singh told a conference of Indian police chiefs in the capital, Delhi.

“We have discussed this in the last five years and I would like to state frankly that we have not achieved as much success as we would have liked in containing this menace.”

The prime minister said that despite the government’s best efforts, violence in Maoist-affected areas was going up. The prime minister admitted that the Maoists had growing appeal among a large section of Indian society, including tribal communities, the rural poor as well as sections of the intelligentsia and the youth.

Mr Singh said a more sensitive approach was necessary in dealing with the Maoists.

“Dealing with left-wing extremism requires a nuanced strategy – a holistic approach. It cannot be treated simply as a law and order problem.”

The rebels operate in 182 districts in India, mainly in the states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

In some areas they have virtually replaced the local government and are able to mount spectacular attacks on government installations.