Doctor Held for illegal Abortion in Fatehgarh, Punjab

Rape with Girlfriend in Abadpura, Jalandhar

Ides Of March As Suspense Builds Up Over UP's And UPA's Political Fate

New Delhi, March 5: Counting of votes in the Assembly elections in the five states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa, considered “mini general elections”, will be taken up tomorrow.

The counting will begin at 0800 hours and first results are expected in an hour or two and all the results by evening.  

The results will decide the fate of candidates in a total of 690 assembly seats --- 403 in UP, 117 seats in Punjab, 70 in Uttarakhand, 60 in Manipur and 40 in Goa.  

The elections, which have taken place in the middle of the last Lok Sabha election in 2009 and the next in 2014 are being considered some sort of “semi final” for the UPA and NDA.


While the Congress facing one controversy after another is looking forward to salvage its image, the opposition combine treats it as an occasion to pitch for a larger claim in 2014.

Looking for some buffer amid pulls and pressures of a troubling ally Mamata Banerjee, Congress faces an uphill task in reviving its fortunes in Uttar Pradesh.  

BJP’s task is also daunting as it has to return to power in Uttarakhand, where corruption allegations against it appear to have tilted the balance in favour of Congress. NDA also has a tough task in retaining Punjab.

Rahul Gandhi had led the campaign in the Mayawati-ruled Uttar Pradesh from the front where Congress is contesting 357 seats in alliance with Ajit Singh’s RLD in the 403-member Assembly.

The party had won only 22 seats in the 2007 assembly elections in the state but made a spectacular show in last Lok Sabha elections where it won 22 Parliamentary seats coming as a shock to Samajwadi Party, BSP and BJP.  

The ruling BSP in UP has contested all 403 seats, SP 402, BJP 398 and RLD 46. Exit polls have predicted a hung assembly in the state with the SP showed as cornering the major chunk of seats.

In the last assembly election, the BSP had won 206 seats and got a majority on its own surprising political pundits. 

SP had got 97 seats, BJP 50 and RLD, which contested in alliance with BJP won 10 seats. Independents and others had got 17 seats.

The Congress, led by former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is quite hopeful of wresting power from the BJP-Shiromani Akali Dal combine in Punjab amid indications that BJP’s hold on urban areas had substantially gone down.  

Congress is contesting all 117 seats here, while SAD 94 and BJP 23. 

In the last election SAD had won 50 seats, Congress 42, BJP 19 and independents 06.  

BJP, which ruled Uttarakhand through a simple majority by winning 36 of 70 seats in last elections, faces a tough challenge this time.

It had to change its Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal “Nishank” ahead of elections and replace him with B C Khanduri, who did not get sufficient time to salvage the dent.  

BJP, Congress and BSP are contesting all the 70 seats here. 

Congress had won 20 seats in last elections and BSP 08.  

Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, which had won three seats in the last assembly election is contesting on 52 seats. 

Three seats had gone to independents in the last election.  

Similarly in Manipur, Congress had got a simple majority in last assembly election winning 31 of the total 60 seats while Manipur People’s Party had won five, NCP and CPI four each, National People’s Party and Lalu Prasad’s RJD three each. Independents had bagged a whopping 10 seats.  

Congress Chief Minister Ibobi Singh, perhaps, faces the toughest election for his party this time but Congress is hopeful of a win in absence of a united Opposition. Exit polls suggest Congress is retaining the state.

Goa in which Congress has its government headed by Digambar Kamat is a state where post poll formulations matter as much as the poll itself.

Congress looks poised for a pitched battle with BJP. Both the Congress and the BJP have entered into alliances -Congress with the NCP and BJP with the MGP.  

Illegal mining an issue but locally it did not become a poll issue as the syndrome allegedly afflicts both parties. 

Congress had won 16 seats, BJP 14, NCP 03, and MGP, SGF and UGDP and independents 02 each. This time also it is expected to be a photo finish between the two alliances.

Imphal:  Counting of votes in the 60-member Assembly in Manipur will be taken up at 8 am tomorrow in all the nine districts of the state, Election Commission sources said.

The Congress had contested all 60 seats, the Trinamool Congress 48, Manipur State Congress Party 31, CPI 24, NCP 22, BJP 19, Manipur People’s Party 14, the National Peoples Party.  Other small parties also contested a number of seats.

The elections were held on January 28.  Meanwhile, 11 non-Congress parties formed the Peoples Democratic Aliance (PDA) yesterday as announced by its Convenor M Nara belonging to the CPI.  

The 11 parties in the the PDA are Trinamool Congress, CPI, Manipur State Congress Party, National Peoples Party, Lok Jansakti Party, NCP, Manipur People’s Party, JD(U), CPI(M), Naga People’s Front and BJP.

Fighting the elections alone this time, the CPI was a partner in the Secular Democratic Front government led by the Congress, formed in 2007. 

People Rush Out From Buildings, As Afternoon Quake Jolts NCR

New Delhi, Mar 5: Strong tremors were felt in Delhi and parts of north India which were shaken by a moderate intensity quake this afternoon resulting in minor damages to some buildings.

The quake, measuring 4.9 on the Richter scale had its epicentre in Haryana’s Bahadurgarh district. 


The tremors were felt at around 1:11 PM for less than ten seconds but pulled panic-stricken people out of their homes and offices.  

Though the quake did not cause any major damage, it created widespread panic with students rushing out of schools in neighbouring Gurgaon, Faridabad and Noida. People living in multi-storeyed buildings and working in high-rise offices were also seen running out.

“The intensity was 4.9 and the epicentre was Bahadurgarh on the Delhi-Haryana Border,” a senior MeT official said.  However, the US Geological Survey pegged the magnitude of the quake at 5.2 on the Richter Scale.  The fire brigade and police said they have not received any calls of casualty or damage in Delhi.  

However, in Haryana, the epicentre of the quake, minor cracks were reported in old buildings. 

The outer periphery of a school building in Rohtak also developed cracks.  Reports said that six labourers working in a ‘Gaushala’ at a village in Hissar were injured when the wall collapsed, but police maintained that the incident took place at least half an hour before the tremor.

Superintendent of Police of Jhajjar, Patram Singh, in whose district the town of epicentre falls, said there was no major damage reported from anywhere.  

There were reports of minor damage to a shrine in Dujana village where labourers were engaged in some repair work and wall of a house collapsing in Lakaria village in Jhajjar, but Singh said these reports were unconfirmed so far.  

Rohtak’s Deputy Commissioner, Vikas Gupta said though there were minor cracks in some buildings, particularly, some old structures, there was no other damage caused by the earthquake.

He also dismissed as false reports of damage caused to a school building in Mayna village located on Rohtak-Jhajjar road.

“We sent teams there to check it, but found nothing.  Reports to this effect are not true. In fact, we not only got the government high school building in Mayna village checked up, but also two school buildings of private schools were checked, but there was no damage,” Gupta told PTI over phone.  Bhiwani’s Superintendent of Police, Satish Balan said the “quake was strongly felt, but it has not caused any damage in the district”.

Besides Bahadurgarh, the tremors were felt in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Rohtak, Jhajjar, Hisar and Bhiwani in Haryana and Ghaziabad, Noida and Agra in Uttar Pradesh.  

Today’s earthquake that shook the capital and certain areas in its neighbouring states of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh was the 19th tremor in the country this year so far and third in the past five days.  

The tremor, measuring 4.9 on the Richter Scale with Haryana’s Bahadurgarh as epicentre, shook Delhi and neighbouring towns at 1:11 pm.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department, this was the 19th quake in the country this year so far and third this month alone.

In January this year, there were 10 tremors which were recorded in various parts of India. Six quakes measuring between 5.0 to 3.6 on the Richter scale were felt in February.  

Last year, there were 80 earthquakes in India, which measured between 3.5 to 6.5 on the Richter scale. A majority of these quakes occurred in the northern Indian regions of Jammu and Kashmir, Harayana and Punjab.  

“India has always been a zone which experiences a lot of seismic activities since ancient times. We are continously doing research in the seismology department,” R S Dattatrayam, a scientist with IMD’s Seismic Department, told PTI.  “Delhi will continue to experience these quakes and termors as it falls on the junctures of faults and ridges,” said Dattatrayam.

According to the Seismic Zone Mapping done by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), Delhi is among 30 cities in the country falling in zone IV, which is defined as a severe intensity seismic zone.

This is the third tremor in Delhi, which is among the 30 cities which fall in the high risk seismic zone, since September last year.

Superintendent of Police of Jhajjar, Patram Singh, in whose district the town of epicentre falls, said there was no major damage reported from anywhere.  

There were reports of minor damage to a shrine in Dujana village where labourers were engaged in some repair work and wall of a house collapsing in Lakaria village in Jhajjar, but Singh said these reports were unconfirmed so far.  

Rohtak’s Deputy Commissioner, Vikas Gupta said though there were minor cracks in some buildings, particularly, some old structures, there was no other damage caused by the earthquake.
He also dismissed as false reports of damage caused to a school building in Mayna village located on Rohtak-Jhajjar road.

“We sent teams there to check it, but found nothing.  Reports to this effect are not true. In fact, we not only got the government high school building in Mayna village checked up, but also two school buildings of private schools were checked, but there was no damage,” Gupta told PTI over phone.  

Bhiwani’s Superintendent of Police, Satish Balan said the “quake was strongly felt, but it has not caused any damage in the district”.

“There was great panic, no doubt, but fortunately it did not last long,” Balan told PTI.

Sham Sunder, a resident of Rohtak City said that he thought his three-storeyed house, on whose top floor he was having his food at the time earthquake occurred, would collapse.

“I thought if this lasts for another 10 seconds, my house would collapse. My son and a daughter who were in their school also told me later that like other children they came out of their building and there was great panic,” he said.  

Ritesh Kumar, who works in a MNC in Gurgaon, said he was at the 5th floor at the time of the quake.  

“We were preparing to have lunch and all of a sudden there was a strong jolt and all of us rushed out in panic.  Luckily, we were all safe and we came to know there were similar scenes of panic in other office buildings in Gurgaon,” he said.

Marathi Actress Among Three Caught In Pune Sex Racket

Pune, Nov 30: A popular Marathi heroine who used to work in films during the Eighties and Nineties was arrested here on Tuesday alongwith two others for running a sex racket.

Assistant Police Inspector  Vimal Bidwe said that actress originally from Kolhapur had taken up residence in Pune for the last four years.

The modus operandi was simple: the actress used to get in touch with high profile people and promise them to provide sex workers.


Bidwe said, police caught her and after laying a trap nd sending a decoy customer. All the three women were arrested from Pune's posh Kondhwa colony.

On Nov 19, Pune police had arrested a TV serial actress and a spotboy working as her broker from a five-star hotel on charge of flesh trade.

Suma beach summer party

Summer Party - Suma Beach

One of best ODI victories I have been part of: Dhoni

HOBART: Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Tuesday described his side's incredible seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the crucial tri-series match as one of the best ODI victories he has been part of. 

Kohli's ton helps India earn bonus point against Sri Lanka

"This was one of the best ODI cricket I have been a part of. That was fantastic right through the very start of our chase. When you need 321 off 40 overs, you need a good start. You need the quantity, but the quality also. Overall it was a fantastic performance," said Dhoni after the match. 

Needing to chase down a mammoth 321 in 40 overs in order to get a bonus point and stay afloat in the tri-series, India rode on Virat Kohli's unbeaten 133 off 86 balls to snatch an incredible victory in only 36.4 overs. 

Dhoni said the top-order comprising Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhirprovided the right kind of start to his side's chase. 

"First 10 overs, we got the 90-odd runs on the board. It was a great start and we just need to carry on the momentum. Sachin, Sehwag gave us the good start and then Gambhir chipped in with useful contribution," he said. 

Dhoni said that he wanted to keep Sri Lanka down to 270 after winning the toss but failed to do it. 

"We wanted to keep them down to 250, maximum 270. We knew we had the firepower, but still 320 was more than we could digest. But once we got that start, we knew we could kick on," he said. 

The Indian skipper added that with their hopes of advancing to the finals of the tri-series hanging on the result of Australia-Sri Lanka match on Friday, they would like to spend a couple of days shopping. 

"We are going on a couple of days of shopping, and some practice at the same time. It's not in our hands now," he said. 

Man-of-the-match Virat Kohli said that it was a great team effort to chase down the huge target like 320 inside 40 overs. 

"To be able to chase 320 in 40 overs in a must win game, and put that sort of a batting effort together was a great team effort. This shows our character as a team, and how well we can execute our plans. It is about working hard and sticking in there," he said. 

He said he tried to rectify some of the mistakes that he had committed in the earlier matches of the tri-series. 

"I committed a few mistakes in the last games after getting to 20 and 30, trying to middle every ball, which doesn't happen always in international cricket. This is a special feeling, probably my best one-day innings so far," said adding that they would be rooting for Australia in Friday's match against Sri Lanka. 

Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene said that one can't do much when someone like Kohli plays out of his skin on a true pitch. 

"You can't do much when he bats like that. It was the first off day for our bowlers in the tournament, so fair enough. It wasn't just Kohli, it was also the way the others batted around him," he said. 

Jayawardene sounded optimistic about qualifying for the tri-series final. 

"Our qualification is still in our hands, which is great. Hope, we come back from this and win inMelbourne."