THE WEEK THAT WAS
After MV Wisdom, the ship that was stuck on Juhu beach in Mumbai, for almost a month, another cargo vessel MV Pavit, drifted undetected by the Indian avy and Coast Guard before running aground off the Juhu, raising concerns about the preparedness of the security agencies. The Coast Guard was alerted about the presence of the vessel 14 hours after it had been first spotted by the city police, displaying the authorities’ inability to learn from the mistakes made on 26/11, when a boat ferrying terrorists entered the city unnoticed.
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the investigations to its logical conclusion.
Declining to grant the 40 days time sought
by the police, the court asked for a final
report within three weeks. The police have
questioned several lawmakers in the scam
that relates to lawmakers’ support being
bought in a trust vote in parliament.
Delhi chief minister under comptroller scanner
New Delhi Chief Minister Sheila-
Dikshit’s government has been indicted by
the Comptroller and Auditor General of
India in its performance audit report on
the Commonwealth Games, held last year
in Delhi. The CAG noted serious lapses
and irregularities in the bidding process
for procurement of Games-related items
and pointed out instances of wasteful
expenditure. Dixit, one of India’s longest
serving chief ministers, maintained she
had done no wrong.
Tamil Nadu chief minister gives money to Lankan refugees
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party law-
makers shouted slogans against a visiting
Sri Lankan delegation in parliament.
3 Indians jailed for drug smuggling
A court in Portland, Oregon, has sen-
tenced three Indians to prison terms rang-
ing from 54 to 48 months, and ordered
their deportation thereafter, following
their conviction in a case related to smug-
gling liquid ephedrine, disguised as green
tea extract, into the country. Ephedrine is
the main precursor necessary for the pro-
duction of the controlled substance
methamphetamine.
Guinness world record for Assam youth’s art
Apuraj Barooah has entered the
Guinness Book of World Records for creat-
ing the longest scratch art piece, measur-
ing 20.30 meters in length and 1.4 meters
in width. His piece contains 40 pictures of
world folk dances including Assam’s
famous Bihu dance.
Maoists may be regrouping, says intelligence report
Top Maoist leader Koteshwar Rao has
again become active in West Bengal’s
Junglemahal area, according to intelli-
gence reports. Rao was present in meet-
ings held in Lalgarh and adjacent areas in
the West Midnapore district, June 22 and
23, the reports said. Intelligence sources
added that Maoists are reorganizing and
restructuring the party, which was dis-
mantled by joint security operations in the
past two years. The West Bengal govern-
ment called Maoists to lay down arms, in
return for a rehabilitation package.
Radiation leak from Gujarat nuke plant
Mystery of the missing forests
SANJAY SAWANT/REDIFF. COM
Mirror reported last week. Areas that were
forests less than 15 years ago have little
sign of green cover now, and the state gov-
ernment is looking at face-saving options.
Mayawati’s ‘gifts of love’ not taxable
The Delhi high court has ruled that gifts
received by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Mayawati from workers of her Bahujan
Samaj Party are not taxable under the
Indian Income Tax Act. The court dis-
missed an appeal filed by the income tax
department challenging an order exempt-
ing tax on gifts received by her during the
assessment year 2003-04. The income tax
appellate tribunal accepted Mayawati’s
claim that immovable property worth
$141,382 and cash payments of $4,516
were gifts given to her by her supporters
out of love and affection.
Gurgaon land acquisition cloud over Gandhi family
The Bharatiya Janata Party last week
alleged that rules were bent to acquire
1,400 acres in Gurgaon’s Ullawas village
by the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust, and
accused Congress party leader Rahul
Gandhi, who criticized the Mayawati gov-
ernment’s land acquisition in Uttar
Pradesh, of having double standards.
