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TERROR TRAILS GAMES Motorcycle-borne assailants shoot at Taiwanese nationals Indian Mujahideen owns up, threatens more strikes for CWG PTI NEW DELHI, SEPT 19
Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary. —Mahatma Gandhi
IN BRIEF Flag march in Lucknow With the court verdict on Ayodhya title suits less than a week away, security forces today staged a flag march in Lucknow and patrolled the streets in Allahabad to instill confidence among people. “The exercise was carried out to instill a sense of security and confidence among people and tell them that the administration will not allow any breach of law and order,” a Home department official said. (PTI)
Parleys for delegation visit Moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF led by Mohammad Yasin Malik will hold joint consultations to decide on whether to meet the all parties delegation of Central leaders arriving here tomorrow. (PTI)
Tar balls threaten Karwar’s marine life HERALD CORRESPONDENT KARWAR, SEPT 19
Thick, black tar balls, some of them as large as a foot in diameter, have washed ashore on Majali and Tilamati beaches, 8 kms from here. Dr Ulhas Naik and Dr Shivkumar, faculty members of the Postgraduate Centre for Marine Biology here, say this unusual phenomenon has been noticed for the first time this year on these beaches, and may threaten marine biodiversity.. The National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, in its report has observed that formation of huge tar balls was due to oil spills by ships in midsea. Naik and Shivkumar pointed out that sometimes, burnt oil is released mid-sea by ships, and carried to the shore by wind and currents. Oil layers in the tanks are sprayed with hot sea water during the cleaning process and flushed out to the sea by some ships. This also leads to formation of tar balls. Both Majali and Tilamati are rocky beaches known for their rich biodiversity. A one-and-ahalf kilometre rock formation at Majali beach sheltered 36 different marine species not long ago. Many of them are extinct now. The beach was rich in algae and seaweed. Star fish, once found in abundance, are now rare. Sea turtles breed on this beach. The sea near Majali has been the corridor for large marine mammals like whales. When tar balls melt, they come into contact with the sea affecting the food chain of marine species, the scientists said.
Two unidentified motorcycleborne attackers today shot and injured two Taiwanese nationals outside the Jama Masjid here Delhi Police appeared to be ruling out the role of any organised terror group but intelligence experts said it could be a handiwork of outlawed Indian Mujahideen, which was behind a series of blasts in several cities, including Delhi and Ahmedabad. The Indian Mujahideen claimed responsibility for the attack in an e-mail sent to Press Trust of India and some other news organisations and threatened terror strikes during the Games.. The two injured — Cesewein (27) and Cinglo (28) — were rushed to the nearby government Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narayan Hospital, a senior police official said. Cesewein (27) had a miraculous escape as the bullet grazed his head while Cinglo (28) was hit in right abdomen. The injured were part of a five-member group of tourists who work with a television channel in Taiwan and were in the capital since yesterday. They were to leave for Jaipur on Tuesday and then visit Agra and return to the capital on September 27 to take a flight back to Taiwan. Karnal Singh, Joint Commissioner (Northern Range), told reporters that the four cartridges recovered from the spot showed that the weapon used could be .38 calibre revolver. But the rounds of fire recovered were also of 9 mm, which can be used in pistol or carbine, he said refusing to hazard a guess on the motive of the attackers. “We are looking into all angles and we cannot jump to conclusions. It appears to be done to create panic,” he said. Constable Pramod, who was
A policeman points out to the bullet mark on the window of a vehicle after a shooting incident outside the Jama Masjid in Delhi. (Right): Security personnel keeping strict vigil at historical complex after the shoot out.
Cooker bomb explodes PTI NEW DELHI, SEPT 19
A car went up in flames today when a “crudely-circuited” pressure cooker bomb exploded metres away from Jama Masjid just hours after an attack there on a vehicle carrying foreign tourists. The incident took place at around two pm, some 50 metres away from Gate No 3 of Jama Masjid and near a police station where two men had earlier in the day fired at a visiting five-member Taiwanese media crew, injuring two of them. “The car went up in flames due to a crudely-circuited pressure cooker bomb,” a senior police official said. Investigators suspect the involvement of a “group of dis-
gruntled youth or local criminals” who wanted to create a scare in the area. Asked whether terrorist groups like Indian Mujahideen could be behind the incident, Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said the pressure cooker bomb was “poorly circuited and crudely assembled.” “ Itappears to be a local gang or disgruntled youths,” he said. The car has been taken to Jama Masjid police station. Two fire tenders were rushed to the spot which doused the flames soon. Police had earlier said the fire erupted due to a cylinder blast. The site where the car caught fire is only 50 metres away from the spot where the firing took place.
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FISHING SCURRY: Anglers compete at the All Goa Fishing Contest near Old Secretariat, Panjim on Sunday. The competition was organized by United Friends of Alto Guimaraes, Panjim. Photo by Rozario Estibeiro
Number of abortions starting to dip HERALD CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI, SEPT 19
The number of abortions carried out in India (officially known as medical termination of pregnancy or MTP) has started to dip. In 2008, Goa, with 930 MTPs, was among the States and Union territories with the lowest abortion figures, along with Nagaland (670), Arunachal Pradesh (655), Mizoram (524), Meghalaya (344), the Andaman & Nicobar Islands (94) and Daman & Diu (42). In 2008, India saw 6.41 lakh abortions across 12,510 institutions, according to ‘Family welfare statistics in India, 2009’, brought out by the Union Health
Ministry. This compares with 7.25 lakh MTPs in 2005, 7.21 lakh in 2006 and 6.82 lakh abortions in 2007. The trend is consistently downwards. In 2008, Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of MTPs (89,194), followed by Tamil Nadu (63,875), Orissa (59,945), Assam (58,409), Maharashtra (54,545), West Bengal (46,753), Haryana (31,126), Delhi (30,846), Rajasthan (29,292), Gujarat (27,837), Bihar (24,149), Madhya Pradesh (19,385), Karnataka (17,500), Punjab (14,834) and Kerala (14,227). However, a recent international report by the United States-based Guttmacher Insti-
tute called ‘Abortion worldwide: A decade of uneven progress’ said that only two in five of the estimated 6.4 million abortions
that take place annually in India are safe. These figures are unsupported by any evidence, but they are at sharp contrast with those of the government. According to the report, South-East Asia recorded the highest abortion rate in 2003 – 39 per 1,000 (23 per 1,000 unsafe and 16 per 1,000 safe). The majority of abortions were in eastern Asia (10 million, which includes China) and in south central Asi a ( 9 . 6 m i l l i o n , which includes India). Of the 26 million abortions performed worldwide in 2003, about 16 million were safe and 10 million unsafe procedures, the report said.
Red alert sounded PTI NEW DELHI, SEPT 19
Barricades dotted the city roads and gun-totting policemen kept a tight vigil as a red alert was today sounded in the capital after two unidentified men opened fire at foreign tourists outside the historic Jama Masjid. The firing incident in which two Taiwanese nationals were injured was followed by an explosion inside a car triggered by a crudely assembled device. “A red alert has been sounded and we are conducting checks at various points,” Karnal Singh, Joint Commissioner of Police (Northern Range), said. Police has erected barricades on stretches across the
capital and were conducting checks. “Checking has also been intensified at all entry points to the capital from neighbouring areas. We are also randomly checking motorcycles,” a senior police official said. Parking of vehicles outside Commonwealth Games venues and iconic buildings have been banned in the wake of firing outside Jama Masjid. An order was issued in this regard by Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna this evening. Police will also check vehicles passing through these areas. Around 30 people were today picked up by police for questioning in connection with the firing.
Stop illegal mining or face CBI: BJP HERALD REPORTER PANJIM, SEPT 19
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today warned that if Goa government fails to curtail illegal mining in the State, it will be compelled to demand a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe. Speaking at a press conference in Panjim, North Goa Member of Parliament Shripad Naik said BJP will give a final call to the government to take steps against the illegal mining trade. “The government is deaf to take action on our three-yearold demand to curb the illegal mining trade. We will agitate. However, we are giving the government one more chance to take action, failing which we will demand CBI inquiry,” said the former BJP president. Naik admitted that increasing illegal mining has pressed a warning button in the state. “There is so much illegal mining taking place in Goa and it is indeed a serious issue,” he said. According to the statistics released by the mining department, iron ore to a whooping tune of Rs 4,000 crore is illegally extracted and exported from Goa. Opposition leader Manohar Parrikar in the recently concluded legislative assembly session in July alleged that many ministers from the present government are involved in the illegal mining trade. Meanwhile, replying to a media question on the final CRZ notification draft released by the Union government, Naik urged that the age-old settlers (Continued on page 10)
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