Writ on ICET admissions

By S A Ishaqui
Hyderabad, Aug. 28: The AP High Court on Friday sought a report on the counselling conducted by the consortium of private unaided minority professional colleges for Icet admissions.

A division bench comprising Justice B. Prakasha Rao and Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar directed the observers appointed by the Admissions and Fee Regulatory Committee (AFRC) to submit their reports to the court about the transparency of admissions being undertaken by the Consortium of Minority Educational Institutions for the MBA and MCA courses.

The court was dealing with a petition filed by Minorities Rights Protection Committee, represented by its general secretary, Mr Fasiudin.

The petitioner complained the court that the Consortium and its constituent colleges have indulged in large scale irregularities while making admission to MBA and MCA courses in 2008-09 academic year.

Writ filed in AP High Court on religious grant

By S A Ishaqui

Hyderabad, Aug 28 :

A writ petition was filed in the AP High Court on Friday challenging the action of the government in providing financial aid and assistance for construction of churches, mosques, or any other religious places including repairs, maintenance or renovation of those places.

Mr T. Hanuman Chowdary, a city resident, filed the petition seeking a direction to declare the action of the government in promoting the interests of Christians by extending grant-in-aid for construction and maintenance of institutions belonging to Christians as unconstitutional. The petitioner said the action of the government was violative of Article 14, 25, 26, 27, 266 and 283 of the Constitution.

Writ on Lord Balaji wealth : AP High Court TTD told to give list of wealth

By S A Ishaqui
Hyderabad, Aug 3 : The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday directed the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) to submit a list of jewellery, gold dollars and other assets of Lord Venkateswara and other deities under the purview of the TTD.

The court while hearing a petition filed by one B. Govinda Reddy against the inaction of the TTD in protecting the assets and punishing the guilty, asked the counsel for the TTD what the authorities were doing in this regard till now.

Mr S.R. Ashok, senior counsel, who appeared for the TTD, told the court that a retired judge of the Supreme Court was appointed to look into the irregularities.
Mr S. Ramachandra Rao, senior counsel who appeared for the petitioner expressed apprehensions over the safety of the jewellery in view of the irregularities that were coming to light and the laxity of the officials.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the TTD trust board, Mr D.K. Adikeshavulu Naidu, said that the details of the assets of all temples under the TTD, would be placed before the High Court withing the stipulated time. Till date the very query into the details about the Lord’s jewels was considered a taboo. None of the officials used to entertain the question.

Writ on fake gallantry awards : AP High Court notices to centre

By S A Ishaqui

Hyderabad,Aug. 3: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Monday directed the Central government to inform its stand on the issue of alleged fake gallantry awards given to four police officials in the state without their participation in an encounter in Karimnagar district in which three top naxal leaders were killed. The court also directed the Chief Secretary to file his counter within a week.

A division bench comprising Justice Goda Raghuram and Justice Ramesh Ranganathan, was dealing with a petition filed challenging the presentation of the prestigious awards to ineligible officials while ignoring the real ones who participated in the encounter.

The bench sought to know whether the Centre had any policy of its own other than accepting the recommendations of a state government.

The bench told Mr A. Rajasekhar Reddy, the assistant-solicitor general, that they would examine the issue on whether the Centre was performing its federal duty as envisaged in the Constitution.

Mr Reddy told the court that since the awards were withdrawn, they closed the matter at their end. The bench granted three weeks to the Centre to file its counter.

4, 750 missing persons untraced

By Shariff Ameeruddin Ishaqui
Hyderabad, February 3: About 4,750 men and women and children who went missing in 2006 remain untraced so far. Among these are 1900 children, 1279 women and 1,570 men, according to police statistics. The total number of missing persons was 7,749 including 3,497 children, 2004 women and 2,248 men. The highest number of missing cases were reported in Hyderabad and Cyberabad. The Andhra Pradesh High Court has frequently pulled up the State Police on several occasions for not paying attention to missing person cases. Senior Police officials including the State home secretary and district police superintendents of police have been summoned by the High Court in these missing cases. Embarrassingly for the police, in at least three instances missing women turned up at the court even as the police was explaining why it could not trace them.
Un the backdrop of such experiences, the state police has decided to give top priority to cases of missing persons.
The CID has directed a fortnightly review at the divisional level, monthly review by superintendents of police at the district level and detailed review every three months at the state level.
The state crime records Bureau Inspector- General has been appointed as liaison officer to monitor the cases, official said.
Sources in the police department told this correspondent that the police in AP was issuing first information report after registering the cases.
“Karnataka, Tamilnadu, and Andhra Pradesh have been following the procedure of registering missing cases, issue of first information report (FIR) and issuing look- out notices” said deputy inspector general of police Umapathy of the state crime investigation department.” The case is then handed over to sub inspector”.
In the state like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Bihar, the practise is to make an entry in the station general dairy of missiong cases. The responsibility of tracing is handed over to a constable.
Mr.Umapathy said this system had been in practice in the three southern states since it as first implemented by the British.

Hyderabad, Jan. 7: Police on Saturday arrested a third person, Venkatesh of Bihar, for alleged involvement in nine sex-related murders over the period of a year on the city outskirts. Two members of the gang, Boya Ramulu and Pavan Yadav, had been taken into custody on Saturday. They had helped identify seven of the nine victims, police said. Two remain unidentified.

Police sources said the brother of Pavan Yadav turned him over the police. The police got its first definite clue in the form of an eyewitness who saw the alleged killers pick up their victims. Sources told this correspondent that Ramulu and Venkatesh had killed N. Jagan of Shamshabad on January 5, 2006, Vijay Kumar of Shamshabad on January 10, and Gopal of Maheswaram on May 3. Police said Jagan was murdered for the sake of Rs 30. His head was smashed with a boulder and the body thrown in the Kamaini Cheruvu of Shamshabad. Vijay Kumar was killed for Rs 100 and his body was thrown in a agriculture well.

Police said that together with Pavan Yadav the gang killed another five persons. The victims included Saritamma of Balanagar who was raped and whose throat was slit. The body was abandoned a railway track on August 10. Cousins Dastagir and Mohammed were killed on January 2 this year, and their bodies abandoned at a municipal dumping yard at Babul Reddy hillocks in Rajendranagar. Radhabai of Amangal in Mahbubnagar district was killed two days later at Timmapur. They lured her by offering her toddy.
Police on Saturday recovered the body of an unidentified person near Aramghar on Saturday. The identity of yet another victim is yet to be established.

The breakthrough came with a clue on January 3 from eyewitness Mohammed Chand Pasha, the cousin of Dastagir and Mohammed who were killed on January 2. Chand Pasha told this correspondent that he had had liquor with Dastagir and Mohammed on January 2 at a shop at Udangadda crossroads. Pavan and another unidentified person, suspected to be Ramulu, were also drinking there. Chand said that Dastagir, Mohammed and Pavan were neighbours and knew each other. They accompanied Pavan after he told them about two sex workers. The three of them and the unidentified person left the place in an autorickshaw.

Chand said, “I came to know the next day that my cousins were murdered. The same evening police summoned me and I told them about Pavan.” Rajendrnagar police contacted Pavan’s brother Mallesh Yadav. Mallesh told this newspaper that he handed over his brother to the police on the night of January 3. “When I came to know that my brother was involved in a murder, I was shocked but kept my nerves,” Mallesh said. Assistant commissioner of police, Rajendrnagar, Mahipal Reddy said revealing more information could hamper investigations. He said police had definite clues on the murder of Mohammed and Dastagir and was working on it.

CISF warns against cyber attack

By Shariff Ameeruddin Ishaqui

Hyderabad Feb. 12: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has stepped up security of vital installations after recent intelligence reports on the possibility of terror strikes there. CISF director general S.I.S. Ahmed said on Monday that threat perception of nuclear establishments such as Baba Atomic Research Centre had also gone up. Talking to this correspondent at the National Industrial Security Academy (Nisa) at Hakimpet on Monday after witnessing a passing out parade of CISF sub-inspectors, Mr Ahmed pointed out that the terror strike may not be in a physical form but could be an attempt to damage the network of such institutions. "That is why we have decided to develop a network security system," he said. "We will protect the institutions from hackers." Most PSUs had excellent software professionals and scientists who could provide the CISF with inputs on the possible damages that terrorists can cause to networks, he said. Threat perceptions were not confined to government institutions and even the country’s premier private sector units were under threat. "We will provide consultancy service to private institutions," the CISF director general said. At present, the CISF was providing security to all airports, defence research organisations and other public sector under takings in the country. Mr Ahmed said that the CISF maintained close coordination with the Intelligence Bureau to get key inputs.