US rules out new probe in Bhopal gas leak tragedy

Washington: The United States has ruled out reopening any new inquiry against Union Carbide after an Indian court’s verdict in the 1984 Bhopal gas leak that killed over 3,000 people, hoping it would bring closure to the probe into the tragedy."Obviously this was one of the greatest industrial tragedies and industrial accidents in human history," US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Robert Blake told reporters Monday. "We hope that this verdict today helps to bring some closure to the victims and their families." 

"But I don’t expect this verdict to reopen any new inquiries or anything like that. On the contrary, we hope that this is going to help to bring closure," he said in response to a question about the Bhopal court verdict sentencing seven former top managers of the Union Carbide pesticide plant to two years in prison. Blake also declined to comment when asked if the US would be more receptive to a request from India for the extradition of Warren Anderson, then chairman of the Union Carbide parent group saying "As a matter of policy, we never discuss extradition." Anderson, who was among the accused but was not named in the verdicts after the Bhopal court declared him an "absconder", lives in suburban New York. At the State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley hoped this "terrible tragedy, one of the worst industrial accidents in human history" does not inhibit the continuing expansion of economic, cultural, and political ties between the two countries. 

Police arrest 8 suspected Maoists in Orissa

Bhubaneswar, Jun 7(UNI) Police today arrested eight suspected Maoists from two different Naxal dominated areas of Orissa. In the first incident, acting on a tip-off that some Maoists were travelling in a bus from Manoharpur-Bonai, the police intercepted it near Bandhamunda in Sundargarh district and checked all the 41 passengers. Later, police released all the passengers except six. Police seized two pistols from the six suspected Maoists who were on their way to Rourkela from Jharkhand. Interrogation of the six accused was still continuing. Police claimed that all the six suspected Maoists were involved in the murder of Police Sub-Inspector Ajit Bardhan and BJP leader Sukra Oram. In the second incident, security personnel arrested two women Maoists from the Gudari forest area in Rayagada district during a combing operation and seized some posters and Maoists literature from their possession. 
 

Bhopal gas tragedy

NEW DELHI: As the country seethes with anger over denial of justice to victims of Bhopal gas tragedy, the CBI officer who probed the world's worst-ever industrial disaster has made the stunning charge that the investigating agency was forced in 1994 by the Narasimha Rao government not to press for extradition of Warren Anderson, the fugitive CEO of Union Carbide. "We (CBI) were forced by ministry of external affairs officials not to follow Anderson's extradition," said B R Lall, former joint director of CBI who was in charge of the probe from April 1994 to July 1995. CBI had moved for the extradition of Anderson after he was declared absconder in 1993. The Narasimha Rao-led Congress government was in power from 1991 to 1996. Lall said, "The MEA communication came in 1994 by when we had already filed a chargesheet for culpable homicide not amounting to murder (304 of IPC) which was changed to death due to negligence (304A) by the Supreme Court. There was enough evidence against Anderson and we were going ahead with investigations when MEA's intervention slowed down the extradition process and he could never be brought to India." Lall also said CBI had resisted the move to let Anderson off the hook but had to give in because the agency, according to him, enjoyed no independence. "We told them that we will go by the investigations and he is our main accused. I did not recommend that the move to initiate proceedings for Anderson's extradition be dropped," said the retired officer making it clear that the decision not to bring Anderson to trial was not CBI's. On Monday, a trial court in Bhopal convicted seven accused under Section 304A, which carries the maximum penalty of imprisonment of upto 2 years, sparking countrywide outrage. What added to the indignation was that Anderson, who jumped bail to escape to the US, has gotten away unscathed. The former CEO of Union Carbide who was arrested on December 7, 1983 spent just over three hours in detention. He was released allegedly at the instance of then MP chief minister Arjun Singh, and never came back despite having promised to do so. Elaborating upon his serious allegation, the former CBI officer said, "CBI investigation was influenced and commandeered by some officials. As a result, justice in the Bhopal gas leak not just got delayed; it was, eventually, denied to the victims." The allegation can fuel the furore over lighter punishments for those who have been held guilty for the loss of thousands of lives. It can also have political repercussions for Congress, considering that it had the reins at the Centre when Lall says CBI was arm-twisted into dropping its plan to secure Anderson's extradition. Lall, who was posted at the CBI headquarters, had hit the headlines earlier when he came out with a book 'Who Owns CBI -- The Naked Truth' -- a lament about denial of independence to the central probe agency. Talking to TOI, the former joint director said he had to yield to pressure from MEA because "CBI is an organisation over which government exercises complete control, and officers have to give in to pressure that is brought to bear upon them". 

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Police today claimed to have cracked the mystery surrounding the firing incident at Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's ashram here, saying it was a bullet fired by a nearby farm house owner to scare away stray dogs.

The owner had fired from his licenced .32 mm revolver and one of the bullets lost velocity and landed in the ashram
premises, DGP Ajai Kumar Singh told reporters here.

"It is conclusively proved that the bullet was from his revolver", Singh said, adding, the farm owner did not have
any intention to murder anyone. The ashram was not visible from the farm house though it was located nearby across the road.

He said the farm house owner Dr Mahadev Prasad had a licence for his weapon. Stray dogs had attacked his sheep recently.

Singh said Prasad has not been arrested as no offence been made against him.

Conflicting versions had emerged about Sunday's firing, which police had described as an 'incident' and suspected that it stemmed out of an internal rivalry in the ashram. The Foundation had taken strong exception to the police version claiming the bullet was fired in the direction of Ravi Shankar's car.

It had also taken umbrage at Union Home Minister P Chidambaram's statement that the spiritual leader "may not" have been the target and the incident could be the result of a dispute between two of his disciples.

The AOL had called the statement "hasty and damaging", saying it had hurt the sentiments of millions of Ravi
Shankar's followers.

K. Radhakrishnan named new ISRO chief

                                                                  24,Oct,2009:Thrissur: (IANS) K. Radhakrishnan, director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, was Saturday named the next chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Armed with a fax copy of his appointment Radhakrishnan, who takes over from G. Madhavan Nair, visited the famed Sree Krishna Temple Guruvayoor here Saturday evening.




        Radhakrishnan said he was told of his appointment by phone from New Delhi. He then gave the number of the temple board office here where his appointment copy was faxed.


“Religion and science go hand-in-hand. And when the two join it is nice,” said Radhakrishnan, when asked about the official communication reaching him at the temple.Radhakrishnan takes over from Nair Oct 31.


               Radhakrishnan did his electrical engineering degree from Kerala University in 1970. He also holds an MBA from Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore and a doctorate from Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur.


He said that his first priority would be to see that the first indigenously developed cryogenic engine be made ready for the launch of the GSLV.

“A huge responsibility has been placed on me and at this moment I would like to thank all my gurus (teachers) and among them are Nair and other former ISRO chairmen like Kasturi Rangan and U.R. Rao,” Radhakrishnan told reporters.

Starting his career with the ISRO as an avionics engineer in 1971, he went on to hold key positions such as director of Regional Remote Sensing Service Centres under the umbrella of National Natural Resources Management System (1989-97).


       In 2000-2005, Radhakrishnan was with Department of Ocean Development (presently Ministry of Earth Sciences) as the founder director of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) and the project director of the Early Warning System for Tsunami and Storm Surges.
He was also the vice chairman of Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of Unesco 2001-05.
Radhakrishnan is a member of the Indian delegation to the UN Committee on Peaceful Use of Outer Space since June 2006.

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