India local

Price : Rs.2 Page : 8RNI No. : MAHENG/2011/38665

INDIA'S LOCAL NEWSPAPER

Vol. : 2 Issue : 45 Monday, 6th to 12th May 2013

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1 killed in Andheri building slab col-

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Doctors in dock for giving anaesthesia,causing death

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Rapes will come down if people shunmeat, alcohol: Swami Agnivesh

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INDIA'S LOCAL NEWSPAPER

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I-T DETECTS

NEW DELHI,

The Income-Tax de-

partment has de-

tected alleged tax

evasion to the tune of

Rs 7 crore in the

business transactions

of Purti Group of

companies related to

former BJP president

Nitin Gadkari.

Probing the al-

leged dubious trans-

actions of the Purti

Power and Sugar

Limited (PPSL)

since last year, the

department has com-

pleted assessments

pertaining to the last

two financial years

and has found eva-

sion to the tune of

more than Rs 7

crore, top official

sources said.

‘TAX EVASION’ INPURTI GROUP TRANSACTION‘TAX EVASION’ INPURTI GROUP TRANSACTION

The Purti Group,

in its reaction, said it

has not received any

notice in this regard.

A notice is not any in-

dicator of any

wrongdoing, it said,

adding that Mr

Gadkari was not as-

sociated with the

group for the past

two years. “Our at-

tention has been

drawn to reports in a

section of media that

the Income-Tax de-

partment is serving a

tax assessment notice

to the Purti Group

for the last two as-

sessment years. We

would like to make it

clear that neither the

Purti Group nor any

functionary of the

Purti Group has re-

ceived any notice so

far,” Mr Nit in

Kulkarni, PRO of

Purti Group, said in a

statement. “If any tax

assessment notice is

received, our MD

Sudhir Dive in con-

sultation with our tax

advisors will give an

appropriate re-

sponse. However, a

tax assessment notice

is a routine proce-

dure. There are dif-

ferent levels of ap-

peal at various

stages. The Purti

group will deal with

the matter. The tax

assessment notice is

certainly not any in-

dication of wrong

doing. We would like

to place on record

the fact that Mr

Gadkari has not as-

sociated with the

Purti Group from the

past two years,” Mr

Kulkarni said. The I-

T department has

begun the final scru-

tiny of documents of

all the Purti group

companies and the

other assessments

would be completed

by the year end, the

official sources said.

While preparing

the final assessment

orders, the depart-

ment has taken into

cognisance the state-

ment of Mr Gadkari

and other senior of-

ficials of Purti group.

The assessment

report, prepared by

compiling the probe

dossiers of various I-

T units present in

Mumbai, Pune and

Nagpur, the depart-

ment says, has found

that a number of

small entities had in-

vested or routed their

money through the

Purti Group which

was not reported for

the “purposes of tax”.

Late last year and

early this year, the

department had con-

ducted a search on a

number of units and

business firms which

have reportedly in-

vested or transacted

in the Purti Group.

Mr Gadkari could

not get a second term

as BJP president af-

ter the allegations of

tax evasion and fi-

nancial irregularities

had cropped up in

the Purti Group. He

had earlier also sub-

mitted a 25-page

document in reply to

questions by the I-T

department regarding

his personal transac-

tions and investments

related to the Purti

Group of companies

and others.

PAGE 2INDIA LOCALMonday, 6th to 12th May 2013

Editorial

The poor saps at the As ian

Development Bank (ADB) in Manila

have a very benign view of India. They

believe that women are safe if they

refrain from baring their legs and so

ask that they do not wear short dresses.

They also ask couples not to kiss or

embrace as these are considered

sexual acts in

India. Clearly, they have not seen our

lumpen lads up close and personal.

After causing a flutter, these noble

guidelines were taken off the website

with some people crying hoarse that

these gu ide l ines propagate a

stereotyped image of India. But others

felt that they make sense in the wake

of rise in sexual harassment cases.

This is of a piece with the advice

from our moral vigi lantes blaming

women for a t t ract ing unwelcome

advances owing to their clothing. But

what the ADB overlooks is that most

Indian women are normally clad from

head to toe in sar is and yet f ind

themselves at the receiving end of

harassment from men. Age, looks and

dress are no deter rents to the

determined voyeur or harasser. And we

have po l icemen, who instead of

focusing on real crime, make it their

mission to hound couples in parks and

other public places even if they happen

to be sitting a respectable distance

apart.

We who have had the misfortune of

living in this macho land have seen that

there is rea l ly is no ant idote to

harassment short of embarrassing the

harasser. When a moralistic crusade

was unleashed in Bangalore, spunky

women got together and started the

pink chaddi campaign. In this, they sent

the coloured undergarments to the

organisation carrying out attacks on

women in bars and other public places

after which the cowards ended their

ugly campaign. So, the ADB should rid

itself of the notion that all it takes is a

modest form of dress ing to s top

attracting unwanted attention. Perhaps,

they should consider giving their female

employees a martial arts allowance.

Nothing like a kick where it hurts most

to dampen the ardour of our budding

Romeos.

Time fortruth or bare

ONE STEP BACK,TWO STEPS AHEAD

The border standoff between India

and China seems to have been

resolved in a manner that seems to

combine the best of diplomatic and

military pressure. This has come after

a few weeks of tension that had

threatened to severely disrupt the initial

political engagement

with the new leadership

in China. On the face of

i t , the mutual t roop

wi thdrawal was a

sensible compromise.

The two mi l i tary

outposts were

untenable given the

iso lat ion of the

Depsang plateau and

the inclement weather

that it faces. Neither

government was in a

position to make any

concession that looked

even remotely lop-sided in favour of the

other. Whatever happened, the solution

would have to be broadly reciprocal.

Nonetheless, there can be no doubt that

China has been the instigator of the

present crisis. New Delhi was caught

unawares by the sudden intrusion. That

it took place just weeks before the

Indian external affairs minister was to

travel to Beij ing and the Chinese

premier was to make a return visit,

makes China's actions especial ly

troubling. There can also be no doubt

that the area of Eastern Ladakh in

which the standoff took place is not in

dispute - India's sovereignty over this

area is something that China's own

maps and diplomatic communications

have acknowledged since the 1950s.

India may withdraw its troops for the

purposes of this encounter, but it is

hoped that they will be back there,

patrolling, as soon as it is possible.

Also, China's demands that India halt

or dismantle its new border defence

infrastructure should be rejected out of

hand. It is well known that China has

built a complex and intricate defence

infrastructure across the southern edge

of Tibet. India has belatedly begun to

build this infrastructure only in the past

five years. Beijing obviously wants to

preserve this mismatch as this ensures

that it holds the edge in any land

conflict with India. India must not back

down on this front as this, in effect,

would mean waving a white flag on the

border. A more fundamental problem is

the frequency with which such border

flare-ups occur. The 2005 protocol

governing how the militaries of both

sides handle localised disputes needs

to be reconsidered by both sides. The

past pract ice of brushing these

incidents under a carpet of secrecy

must a lso come to an end. I t is

impractical to expect that such things

will stay hidden and result in the odd

case that does surface, becoming

magnified out of proportion in the

public sphere. India and China have a

mutually beneficial relationship in the

economic space. The two fail to bind

on the political front. This is not a

problem. What needs to be worked out

is an understanding that ensures that

polit ical fr iction does not spark a

military fire. This modus vivendi is the

miss ing par t o f th is b i la tera l

relationship - a goal only put back by

the sort of incidents that happened at

Depsang.


INDEFINITE STRIKE AGAINST LOCAL BODY

TAX BRINGS TRADE TO A HALT IN MUMBAIAll business and trad-

ing activity ground to a

halt in the country's com-

mercial capital Monday

as over 1.5 million re-

tailers, wholesalers and

manufacturers launched

an indefinite strike

against the Maharashtra

government's decision to

bring in Local Body Tax

(LBT) in lieu of octroi.

Strike against local

body tax: Trade grinds to

a halt in Mumbai

Traders protesting

LBT implementation in

Maharashtra

Neighbourhood retail

shops, wholesale trading

in clothes, electronics,

hardware, metals, cloth,

foodgrain, fruit, veg-

etables and all types of

manufacturing activities

in Mumbai were paraly-

sed since morning, incon-

veniencing millions of

customers.

"Over a million retail-

ers have wholeheartedly

joined the strike from to-

day (Monday), besides

another half a million-

plus wholesalers and

traders in Mumbai, bar-

ring certain essentials

like pharmacies," Federa-

tion of Retail Traders'

Welfare Association

(FRTWA) president

Viren Shah said.

The FRTWA has joined

its over one million coun-

terparts in the rest of the

state, large sections of

which have been on regu-

lar strike and agitations

since April 22, following

a call by the Confedera-

tion of All India Traders.

"If the state govern-

ment does not roll back

the LBT and revert to oc-

troi, it will mean a loss of

around Rs 500 crore per

day in Mumbai alone,"

Shah warned, adding that

the losses for the entire

state are being tabulated.

"We do not want the

LBT under any circum-

stances. We shall surren-

der our LBT registration

soon if the government

does not withdraw it," an

aggressive Shah said.

A petition by a Pune

trade body challenging

the LBT will come up for

hearing before the Su-

preme Court Tuesday,

May 7.

LBT, which replaced

the traditional octroi in

the various municipali-

ties in the state, is an ac-

count-based cess collec-

tion for every raw mate-

rial used or imported into

the city limits by all busi-

nesses, traders and manu-

WHAT IS LOCAL BODY TAX?

facturers. While it has

already been imple-

mented in most parts of

Maharashtra from April

1, it is due to be imposed

in Mumbai from October

1 this year. Earlier, the

FRTWA had gone on a

day's token strike April

22 in support of octroi,

which had received a sig-

nificant response. The

city Bharatiya Janata

Party unit extended sup-

port to the strike and

urged Maharashtra gov-

ernment to scrap LBT

and revert to octroi, ac-

cording to city unit chief

Raj Purohit.

Local Body Tax (LBT), to be im-

posed in Maharashtra October on-

wards, will be valid on the sale or

consumption of certain products.

It was proposed in the state bud-

get as a replacement for Octroi, as

per the Government directives to the

BMC, where businessmen would de-

clare their income and tax would be

paid on that.

How is it different from octroi?

LBT gives direct access of ac-

counts and turnovers of merchants.

Earlier, octroi was charged on the

material that came into the city, but

LBT will be charged on overall turn-

over of merchants.

Trader has to pay the tax once ev-

ery 40 days using online portals,

cheque, demand draft or cash

through a designated bank or

counters of the civic bodies.

According to traders, the tax will

be an addition to the existing Value

Added Tax (VAT).

REVENUE SYSTEM

The current cash flow of the admin-

istration will change in this system,

as they will get the revenue every

month-end and not on an annual ba-

sis.

Traders claim that if they have to

pay more taxes, they will finally levy

it on the buyers, as the end product

will cost them more. The tax varies

from 0-7 per cent, depending on the

goods.

ANTI-LBT

Retailers, wholesalers and manu-

facturers are against LBT which they

feel will lead to more corruption.

They also said that government's tax

regime keeps changing every year, in

turn inconveniencing them.


Big B to buy a

flat in Bhopal?Looks like Bachchans have

a strong connection with

Bhopal. According to sources,

while senior Bachchan was

shooting for Prakash Jha’s film,

Satyagraha in Bhopal, he used

his free time to scour for a suit-

able residential property to set

up another home.

Interestingly, the legendary

actor has a special connection

with the city as his wife Jaya’s

mother Indira resides there. It

is said that the Bachchans al-

ready have two flats and some

land in Bhopal. This time AB

is apparently interested in buy-

ing a property at the outskirts

of the city of lakes.The source

adds, “Bachchan saab was here

for the shooting of Prakash Jha’s

movie and he had earlier ex-

pressed how he likes the place for

its lush green ambience.”

Apparently Big B had stayed

back for a day after the shooting

to finish some work and the hunt

is still on for the coveted prop-

erty.

Another source from Bhopal

revealed that someone close to the

Bachchans had mentioned that the

family loves the city so much that

he took the latest addition in the

family -- granddaughter Aaradhya

-- to his mother-in-law’s place.

Even during his earlier shooting

schedule for Satyagraha, he was

seen visiting his favourite places

in the city.

THE IDENTITY CRISIS IN BOLLYWOODFarah Khan Ali, the

jewellery designer, re-

cently received a mail

about the hotel booking

which she never did.

“The identity crisis is a

part of life now I have

changed my name to

Farah Khan Ali and I

hope the other Farah

Khan changes hers to

Farah Khan Kunder! I

had to call up the man-

ager of this hotel and

tell him that they have

sent the mail to the

wrong Farah. I also re-

ceive bare chested pic-

tures of these hot hunks

wanting to act in mov-

ies and I keep wonder-

ing why I am getting

these mails.” Farah

Khan, the choreogra-

pher turned producer

has a different set of

problems. She says, “I

get these invitations

from really top haute

couture designs and I

know they are not for

me. She gets a lot of

flowers and gifts meant

for me. The funniest

thing perhaps is when

Shah Rukh sent a senti-

mental message meant

for me to her.” Kunal

Roy Kapur and Kunal

Kapoor also have had

their share of hilarious

incidents. Once Kunal

Roy Kapur got a call to

judge a college fest. As

he was out of town he

said he won’t be able to.

The caller to his embar-

rassment then asked if

someone else from

Rang De Basanti team

will be able to make it.

Kunal Roy

Kapur,Kunal Kapoor

“Instead of explain-

ing them the goof up, I

simply told them that

none of them are free.

This keeps happening

every once in a while

with me.” The other

Kunal Kapoor had

once mentioned that he

gets a lot of calls meant

for Kunal Roy Kapoor

for acting offers in the-

atre and also some call

to ask for Siddharth’s

(Kunal Roy Kapur’s

brother) number.


Don't allow Shah Rukh to en-

ter Wankhede: MCA writes to

MUMBAI POLICE"We wrote a letter to Ma-

rine Lines police station to-

day asking them not to al-

low Shah Rukh Khan inside

the stadium tomorrow

(when Kolkata Knight Rid-

ers play Mumbai Indians).

This was after the police

had asked us to send a let-

ter to that effect," MCA

president Ravi Savant told

reporters in Mumbai.

The Bollywood superstar

was banned for five years

from entering MCA pre-

mises, including the

Wankhede Stadium, by

the Association's Manag-

ing Committee, headed by

the late Vilasrao

Deshmukh, on May 18

last year, after he was in-

volved in a skirmish with

security staff and officials

of the cricket body follow-

ing KKR's victory over

MI two nights earlier.

Shah Rukh, however, de-

nied he had misbehaved

and maintained he reacted

only after children, including

his kids, were "manhandled"

by the security staff at the

stadium.

Meanwhile, it has been

learnt that security person-

nel have been told by the

authorities not to allow SRK

inside the premises.

RAJASTHAN ROYALS

THRASH KINGS XI

PUNJAB BY 43 RUNS

A good all-round effort by the Rajasthan batsmen pro-

pelled them to a score of 177 for six and some tight bowl-

ing helped them restrict Kings XI Punjab to 134 for eight.

It was a brilliant team effort by the 2008 champions led by

former India captain Rahul Dravid.

Johan Botha (2-21), Shane Watson (2-22) and Shaun Tait

(2-18) took two wickets each while Siddharth Trivedi and

Stuart Binny took wicket apiece. Watson, who also struck

a 17-ball 36, was also adjudged Man of the Match.

The only cause for worry for the visitors was their poor

fielding performance. They could have wrapped up the

match much earlier but dropped three easy catches.

Kings XI Punjab chasing a big target never looked in the

hunt. They were dealt early blows as their in-form batsman

Mandeep Singh (7) got out playing a rash shot while Tait,

playing his first game, accounted for Nitin Saini (2).

Captain David Hussey (8) too did not stay long at the crease

and with Shaun Marsh (34) departing the very next over, it

was all but over for the hosts. Former Pakistan all-rounder

Azhar Mahmood (24) put up a brief fight but was deceived

by a slower ball from Binny. Earlier, electing to bat,

Rajasthan lost their top run getter Ajinkya Rahane (5) in

the second over, caught behind off Australian Ryan Harris.

Skipper Rahul Dravid (46) and Watson (36) strung to-

gether a 69-run partnership for the second wicket to put

Rajasthan in the driving seat. Dravid, who recently retired

from international cricket, looked in great touch hitting eight

fours in his 39-ball innings. The Indian veteran then forged

another good partnership with young Ashok Menaria (34)

as Rajasthan looked well on their way to set a big start.

However, things came to a standstill as Harris, who ended

with figures of four for 34, sent Dravid back to the

pavilion.Brad Hodge though played a blistering innings late

on, scoring 36 off 23 balls as he propelled the visitors to an

imposing total.

Former India leg-spinner Laxman

Sivaramakrishnan elected to ICC panel

In an appointment that was

backed by the BCCI, former

India leg-spinner Laxman

Sivaramakrishnan today re-

placed Tim May as a play-

ers' representative on the

ICC Cricket Committee."...

Sivaramakrishnan is one of

the two Current Player rep-

resentatives (replacing Tim

May). The other Current

Player representative is

former Sri Lanka captain

Kumar Sangakkara, who

has been on the committee

since 2007," the ICC said

in a statement on Monday.

"Sangakkara and

Sivaramakrishnan were re-

cently elected by a vote of

the 10 Test captains, and will

serve on the Cricket Com-

mittee for a three-year term

from 2013-15," it

added.The appointment

was preceded by the head

of South Africa's players

union's recent allegation that

Indian interests have forced

a re-vote for the position of

players' representative.Tony

Irish, who is also on the Fed-

eration of International Crick-

eters' Associations, had said

initial voting for the post by

the 10 Test captains had cho-

sen May, who has been a

long-term senior players'

advocate.Meanwhile, the

ICC further announced that

the annual Cricket Commit-

tee meeting will take place in

London on May 28 and 29.

The committee will be

chaired for the first time by

former India captain Anil

Kumble, who has suc-

ceeded ex-West Indies skip-

per Clive Lloyd.


Minor girl raped by step-fa-

ther who wanted to marry her

BJP EXPOSES BANSAL'S BUSINESS

LINKS WITH ARRESTED NEPHEW

BJP leader Satya Pal Jain demanded that the CBI should

interrogate Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal who

has said that he has no business links with his nephew

who was arrested for allegedly accepting Rs 90 lakh to

promote a railway official.

At a press conference on Sunday, Jain produced docu-

ments to claim that Bansal and his family had close

business links with his nephew Vijay Singla, who was

arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

on Saturday.

in the line of fire: According to documents shown by

BJP, Railway Minister PK Bansal had close business

ties to Vijay Singla, his

nephew and even the com-

panies floated by Singla had

Bansal’s residence on it. File

pics

Jain is in charge of the BJP’s

legal cell and a former mem-

ber of parliament from

Chandigarh. “I am surprised

why the CBI has not interro-

gated Bansal yet. Docu-

ments that establish a clear

business link between

Bansal’s family and his

nephew are available,” Jain

said.

The bribery scam is the lat-

est to hit the UPA govern-

ment at the centre. Jain

claimed that Bansal’s two

sons were directors in some of the companies floated

by Vijay Singla, who is the son of Bansal’s sister.

Singla was arrested on Saturday with three others for

allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 90 lakh. The bribe

was paid to him on Friday by two people for getting a

senior railway officer, Mahesh Kumar, appointed as a

member of the powerful Railway Board. Mahesh Kumar

was appointed to the post on May 2. Jain claimed

that companies floated by Singla had given the ad-

dress of Bansal’s palatial house in an upscale area of

Chandigarh’s Sector 28. “If they are using his address

for their companies, how can there not be a business

link? Why is Bansal not coming out in public and

answering questions being raised on him?” Jain said.

Singla, who is setting up big a mall-cum-hotel project,

Acropolis, in Chandigarh’s industrial area, has busi-

ness interests in real estate, industry and other

projects.

He said that a thorough investigation be carried out

by the CBI into the growth of the finances and assets

of the Bansal family and their relatives in recent years.

He alleged that a senior IAS officer, Rahul Bhandari,

who is the son-in-law of Bansal’s sister and is the

railway minister’s private secretary, had also bought

properties in and around Chandigarh recently.

The BJP said it will keep pressing for the ouster of

union ministers Ashwani Kumar and Pawan Kumar

Bansal which, it hoped, will eventually lead to PM

Manmohan Singh quitting. Law Minister Ashwani

Kumar is facing fire for vetting a CBI report on the

coal block allocations scam, while the opposition is

baying for the blood of Pawan Kumar Bansal. “We

are putting forward this demand on behalf of the

people of India. Whether it is Pawan Bansal or

Ashwani Kumar, they are trying to save them because

they know, as soon as these ministers are out, the

prime minister will be in direct line of fire,” said Ravi

Shankar Prasad.Backing Railway Minister Pawan

Kumar Bansal, the Congress said no action will be

taken against them immediately. “There is a probe

going on, let the result come. We will decide after

that,” said I&B Minister Manish Tewari after a meet-

ing of the Congress core group at the PM’s official

residence.

DELHI MOST CREATIVE STATE IN INDIA,

MAHARASHTRA IN TOP 10: REPORTAccording to Creative Index Report in 2013, Chandigarh, Punjab, Kerala, Goa,

Mizoram, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Puducherry and Maharashtra round out the

top nine. Haryana and Manipur are tied for the tenth position, it said. "Delhi takes the

top spot as the most creative state in India with the greatest potential for success in

today's creative economy," it said. The study explores the presence of the 3Ts -

Technology, Talent and Tol-

erance in economic develop-

ment within each state and

Union Territory in India.

"Each of the 3Ts is important

to economic development; no

one T on its own can provide

sufficient support to sustain

growth and continued pros-

perity. “Taken together, these

3Ts of economic develop-

ment combine to produce the

Creativity Index, a measure of

a regions overall creative

economy," said Kevin Stolarick, Research Director, Martin Prosperity Institute. He

said India should recognise the importance of building talent, courting technology

and promoting tolerance in gaining an economic advantage. "Such an approach for

India would mean recognising the creative talent of its residents in order to develop

the businesses and industries of tomorrow; investing in the infrastructure required to

mobilise more innovation and recognising the importance of openness and diversity

in gaining economic advantage," he added. It also said within India, the Far North, Far

East, and Southern States and Union Territories appear to have higher concentrations

of the creative class than central and western regions.

Mahendra Sonar, a resident of Dhruwa

colony of Ranchi, was arrested Sun-

day night. Mahendra's wife lodged a

complaint in the Dhruwa police sta-

tion alleging that he had been raping

her 14-year-old daughter for the last

eight months.

Police arrested Mahendra and sent him

to jail. The minor, in her statement to

police, revealed that Mahendra had

been forcing himself on her and had

even wanted to marry her. She in-

formed her mother May 4.

The mother had left her first husband,

the father of the girl, and married Mahendra,

with whom she has two children. Her daugh-

ter from the previous marriage and the two

children all lived together in Ranchi.

A medical test has been conducted on the

girl, and police said further action would de-

pend on the results of the test.


CROSSWORD

ARIES: The stars

recommend that you

should take proper care

of your health and

temperament during this

week. Some of you might be under

mental stress during first half of the

week and vague feeling of depression

may engulf you.

TAURUS : You will be in a relaxed

and a happy state of mind

most of the time during

this week. Be prepared to

shoulder responsibilities

that come your way

regarding family matters. There is

strong possibility that you would

repent later to wonder how you could

have done this.

GEMINI : Your health

will be fine and you will

feel energetic and able to

undertake tasks that you

had postponed earlier. However

senior citizens might suffer from

joint pains or chest congestion. Long

awaited promotions, elevations in

social status or rise in salary are on

the cards for the most of you.

CANCER : The

planetary configuration

indicates that you are

required to observe

necessary precautions in

your eating habits and take proper

rest coupled with sleep to maintain

your physical and mental health. You

will receive lot of respect from

others.

LEO : The period under

consideration is

favourable for enjoying

good health most of the

time. The favourable days

during this week are likely to be

Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. You

are advised to try to make the

optimum use of opportunities when

they come along.

VIRGO : Health and

domestic affairs would need

your attention this week. Do

not neglect an ailment that,

though not serious, may

become a nagging problem. However,

your expertise in preparing meticulous

and detailed project reports will stand you

in good stead later.

LIBRA : Those of you,

who had been suffering

from general weakness and

headaches, would feel

relieved during this week. Youngsters

might decide to go on a health binge.

Regular exercise schedule and proper

diet will make them more relaxed and

active. If connected with computer

related work, you will receive an offer

to set up your own enterprise.

SCORPIO : Your health

will be fine and you will

feel energetic throughout

this week. However you

might be required to look after the

health of the elderly in your family

who may require medical attention.

There may be some changes in the

household for those living in a joint

family.

SAGITTARIUS : It is

a busy period for work

and career, but at the

same time you should

not neglect your regular

exercise schedule. It is necessary to

pay necessary attention towards

your health also. The work assigned

to you during this week might be a

test of your expertise and

knowledge.

CAPRICORN : Your

health might experienceups and downs. Henceyou are required toobserve slight

precautions regarding your healthduring this week. A desire to advanceyour career will inspire you to worksincerely towards achieving your

objectives and goals.

AQUARIUS : Thosewho have justrecovered from a spellof illness should becareful regarding their

health. A relapse at this stagemight prove to be troublesome foryou. If you have been thinking ofstarting an independententerprise, make a concrete movein that direction now by meetingpeople and discussing your ideas.

It may take some time.

PISCES : It will be a

good week to build upyour stamina andreserves to tackle thecoming onslaught of

work. However some of you mayhave a slight health problem thatwill require you to take rest forfew days. Take care of your diet

and focus on your health.

Your horoscope for this week

A

NO QUICK DIVORCE FOR MARRIEDAfter a week, 336 of the

650 couples who applied for

divorce in Cixi area did not

show up at the divorce office,

authorities told Xinhua.

The new divorce policy

was introduced on a trial ba-

sis April 1 in Cixi area of

Ningbo city.

"...we saved 336 families

(from divorce)," said He

Guoxin, director of the social

affairs department of Ningbo

Civil Affairs Bureau.

Many couples, especially

young couples born in the

1980s, came to the divorce

office on impulse, and the

delay helps them to calm

down, He said.

He said the city's re-mar-

riage rate proved that many

divorces were driven by im-

pulse.

Sex and relationships, No

quick divorce for couples in

this Chinese city

The remarriage rate

climbed to 18.5 percent in

2010 from 9.2 percent in

2006.

"Some young couples re-

marry three days after they

divorce," He said.

"It is too easy to divorce,

which makes some couples

leave each other without a

second thought," said Luo

Xianlin, general manager of a

match-making website

hongniang.com based in

Zhejiang, and director of

Zhejiang Match-making Pro-

fessional Committee.

China cancelled the one-

month approval time for di-

vorce in 2003.

The nation's divorce rate

has climbed over the past

decades to 30 to 40 percent

in big cities like Beijing and

Shanghai. The country re-

corded only 341,000 divorces

in 1980. The number jumped

to 1.21 million in 2000, and

reached 2.21 million in 2011.

Shang Shaohua, a mem-

ber of the Chinese People's

Political Consultative Confer-

ence, proposed to establish

a calm-down period for

couples seeking divorce in

2010 during the "two ses-

sions" of the National

People's Congress.

The divorce reservation

policy was

first imple-

mented in

Qingdao city

in Shandong

province at the

beginning of

this year.

The di-

vorce reserva-

tion gives the

two sides a

chance to

calm down.

The rising divorce rate re-

flects the rise of self-con-

sciousness, but also indi-

cates instability in society,

said Yan Shan, another mar-

riage expert.

Across:

1 __ Lanka : our southerly

neighbour (3)

4 Detonate or cause to begin or

start (3,3)

7 A dividing membrane or parti-

tion (6)

8 Crave, covet or lust for (4)

10 Lower House of Parliament

(UK) (3,7)

12 Prohibitions by custom or reli-

gion (6)

14 Accumulates by skimping (6)

15 In large amounts of quantity,

in a way (4,2)

17 Famous hospital on Pedder

road (6)

19 Unable to read or write (10)

21 Bathroom powder (4)

22 ___ ___ nobis : pray for us, in

Latin (3,3)

23 __ ___ puzzle : fit the pieces –

you get the picture (3,3)

24 Big name in moulded luggage

(3)

Down:

1 A group of six musici (6)

2 Understanding term? (1,3)

3 Tramples heavily on (6)

4 Feeling one's way overseas (6)

5 Unwelcome visitor, intruder (10)

6 Whimsical; strange (3)

9 Sorcery from the West Indies (6)

11 Chinese restaurant at Churchgate

(10)

13 Microscopic one-celled animal

(6)

16 Come as a logical consequence

(6)

17 Delayed bodily effects due to

long journey by plane (3,3)

18 Maintain, prevent from sink-

ing, especially tempo, one's spir-

its, etc (4,2)

20 Name of sea forming north-east-

ern arm of Black Sea (4)

21 __ Mahal : the wonder at Agra

(3)

COUPLES IN THIS CHINESE CITY!The new method should to

be expanded to cover more

parts of the country, and the

calm-down period could be

extended to more than a

week, Yan said. "Divorce res-

ervation is common in other

countries. The period is one

to three months in the Repub-

lic of Korea (South Korea)

and nine months in England,"

Yan said.


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According to a news report, Mumbai Police wasalerted by the Western Naval Command Headquartersabout a possible terror attack on the US Consulate inMumbai in July.The report further reveals that U.S. Con-sulate officials are the target after an anonymous letter withAl-Jihad logo was sent to them. The letter warns of anattack on not just the consulate in Mumbai, but also on theUS Consulate in Kolkata. The letter has been sent to theUS Consulate and a response is awaited. The police are inthe process of checking the veracity of the letter, the chan-nel reported.

IB alert over possible ter-

ror attacks on US Consu-

lates in Mumbai, Kolkata

MURDER OVER JUHU FLAT: STRANGLED, BODIES

PUT IN SACKS, DOUSED WITH PETROL, SET ON FIRE

How did Vinod Broker (84)and his secretary Usha Nair(51) meet such a gruesomeend? Following the arrest of thethree accused Ibrahim Shaikh,Ravindra Reddy and NitinBhatia cops claim to havesolved the case and decipheredthe sequence of events.

Two of the three accused,Ibrahim Shaikh and RavindraReddy, being taken to theShivajinagar Court in the kid-napping and murder case ofVinod Broker and Usha Nair.Pic/Krunal Gosavi Investiga-

tions have revealed that aroundnoon on April 30, when the vic-tims were last seen, the offend-ers took them on a drive in ahired car on the pretext ofshowing Vinod a property nearShirval. They then strangulatedthe duo, and left them inKhandala after setting the bod-ies on fire. This was a joint in-vestigation led by Senior In-spector Bhanu Pratap Bargefrom Social Security Cell ofPune Police, sleuths of CrimeBranch (Unit IX) of Mumbaipolice and Koregaon Park

police station. After arrestingIbrahim and Ravindra, policeyesterday morning appre-hended Nitin from Mumbai.Cops say Ibrahim the prime ac-cused was driving the car, whileNitin and Ravindra, who weresitting in the back, asphyxiatedthe victims occupying themiddle seat. Barge said thatNitin is a driver by professionand used to work for a re-nowned travel agency. He wasa close associate of Ibrahim.“Nitin was the one who ar-ranged a Toyota Innova, withregistration number MH 04DE 2667, which he laterchanged to MH 09 109.Re-lating what transpired, Bargesaid, “Around 11 am on April30, the trio came to Vinod’sKonark Enclave Housing So-ciety residence and went inwithout entering their names orvehicle number in the securityregister. Here they met Vinodand Usha who were already

waiting for them in the 84-year-old’s C-7 apartment.” Afterchatting and having some re-freshments, Ibrahim offered toshow Vinod his property nearShirval. They all left togetherat 12.15 pm, according to theCCTV footage of the build-ing. They reached the KatrajTunnel an hour later, and hereNitin and Ravindra strangledthe victims. They put the bod-ies in bags and, on reachingKashedi Ghat at 2 pm, burntthe corpses after pouringpetrol on both. However,moments after they had left, alocal resident informedKhandala police station thatsome unidentified people hadset fire to two bodies near a

closed stone-crushing plant.“The accused had removed allthe belongings from the bod-ies and even stripped them.They took the house keys fromVinod’s pocket and returnedto Konark Enclave at 4.20pm. From here the trio tookthe keys to Vinod’s car and abag containing importantdocuments like passport andPAN card and left 10 minuteslater. They took Usha’s car, inwhich she had arrived for themorning meeting, and sold itto a person in Bandra. We aretrying to find out who had pur-chased the vehicle. A team hasbeen sent to recover the carand other papers of the Juhuproperty,” said Barge.

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