IPL fever bowls capital

- Hey, look at Gayle, Gambhir

 VIJAY DEO JHA 

Ranchi

                                                                                   courtesy The Telegraph

“Hotele ki hochchhe? Eto Bheed keno?,” Bharat Bose (70) a former bank employee, puffing bidi with tea, curiously asked the tea stall owner about hundreds peeping inside Hotel Radisson Blu this afternoon.

“Dada, IPL er bheed. Era sobai player dekhte eseche? Apni dekhte jaben na ki? (This crowd is for IPL. They have come to see players? Will you not got to watch the game?).    

Bose was quite unmoved by frenzy of cricket and the fight of purple of SRK’s ‘Kolkata Knight Rider’ with red of Vijay Mallya Royal Challenger this evening at International Cricket Stadium, Dhurwa. “Ei crickete amar interest nai, (I have no interest in this kind of cricket),” Bose seemed to have problem with 20-20 format of cricket that he said a ‘money making game’ that has taken toll over class cricket and test matches.

But, Bose remained an isolated voice as others joined the discourse occupying wooden bench of the tea stall much in the fashion of Hindu pantheons arranged in a row. “Only you are getting crazy, rest is rejoicing it. Have you seen how Chris Gayle sending every ball out of boundary? Just see people waiting to see the players. Many of us are going to watch,” a young man interrupted.  

Crowd erupted all of a sudden in front of the hotel, with deafening decibels of sloganeering much in the fashion of a the rally of the Mamta Banarjee — Gambhir, Gambhir, Gayle tu khel — as soon as players left for the stadium in the afternoon. The local police and the IMG Security Limited soon pushed them back to make way for the players.

“It is happening daily sir. Hundreds come everyday requesting us to allow them to go inside to see the players. They even offer us good bucks if we could manage their autograph what a craze for cricket sir. Very tight security sir…it will remain till Thursday till the players will leave the hotel,” a hotel security guard said. Ranchi has reasons to regale as the city will host another IPL match on Wednesday between Pune Warrior and Kolkata Knight Rider.

“Today, Gambhir will not smile on the ground he has said to the media. He will deliver his best to make the game a korbo, lorbo story. But Gel is going to bring hell upon his opponent,” Prabhu Kumar a student said. Kumar lamented he could have seen them playing on the ground if his pocket would have allowed to purchase ticket. Gambhir is leading the Kolkata Knight Rider against Virat Kohali of the Royal Challenger.

The team of Gambhir, he said, has lost eight matches out of 13 played so far and the victory tonight is quite required.

Elaborate arrangements were made by the hotel authorities for the players of three teams staying here. “Good arrangements have been made. Food is prepared according to their choice to serve them during Super Breakfast. Items prepared at the Kabab Factory in the hotel are loved by all the players,” a manager of the hotel said.

The day being Sunday, the city road bore a deserted look, shops remained closed and the Firayalal Chowk that defies silence on any day obliged the call of the day. “But you see the rush of people and traffic on the road leading to the ground. People are very passionate about cricket. We have deployed good number of traffic cops and dedicated QRT and control units,” Ranchi SP Manoj Ratan said.   

Auto rickshaws drivers found it a day fit for brisk business. “Players are earning in crore out of game, at least, we should earn a thousand. I have already hired my auto to ferry some crazy game lovers of my mohallah near to the stadium. If they can spend thousands on ticket they should give us something too,” Munilal an auto driver said.

The Dhurwa stadium witnessed a torrent of red and purple flags and the flash of cameras as the game started.

But Bose an ardent cricket lover of his time will keep you arguing such IPL teams represents private and profitable club headquartered at Mumbai and Bangalore which has nothing to do with national pride and sentiment.

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Cash haul sullies poll mood Congress in thick of money muddle

Cash haul sullies poll mood Congress in thick of money muddle

VIJAY DEO JHA

The seizure: Rs 22.6 lakh The den: City Palace, Ranchi Envelopes containing money seized from City Palace, a hotel (above) in Ranchi, on Sunday. Pictures by Hardeep Singh Ranchi, April 7: Police seized over Rs 20 lakh in cash, the money put in hundreds of envelopes, from a city hotel, casting a shadow on tomorrow’s civic polls in Ranchi in a replay of last year’s Rajya Sabha election when crores were seized from a car linked to one of the candidates. Today’s raid on Hotel City Palace was carried out around noon soon after a group of Congress leaders, including former mayor Rama Khalkho — also a candidate this time — and others wrapped up a meeting there, prompting an election commission observer to comment that it was a blatant attempt to influence polls. However, the election commission clarified that tomorrow’s vote in Ranchi and Bundu was on. A final decision on the fate of the civic polls, however, would be taken only after it received a written report from observers, the police and the income tax department. The money, Rs 22.6 lakh in all, was seized from two second floor rooms (Nos. 202, 205) booked by Ranchi Congress vice president Niranjan Sharma. Around 50 bundles of poll material were also seized. SP (city) Manoj Ratan said since the rooms and the conference hall where the Congress leaders held their meeting had been booked in the name of Sharma, he had been arrested. An employee of his, Sudhir Sahu, is in the net too. “We are in the process of filing FIRs. There are evidences against Rama Khalkho as well,” he said. Elaborating on today’s operation, the SP said the Lalpur police raided the hotel following specific intelligence inputs that big money had been brought in for distribution. “The cash was put in hundreds of envelopes meant for distribution. We are trying to find out the people behind this.” Apart from Khalkho, those who were at the hotel and left from a side exit as soon as police arrived, were Sunil Sahay, younger brother of Ranchi MP Subodh Kant Sahay, and Congress president Surendra Singh. Police reached the hotel at noon and went to room 205 where they found two bags of currency notes with Sudhir Sahu, the employee of Sharma, who brought the bags to the hotel. They then checked with hotel staff and moved to room 202. They broke open the lock and seized the third bag. While Rs 18.05 lakh was found in the bags in room 205, the third bag in room 202 had a little over Rs 4 lakh. Expenditure observer of the mayoral election Sarvjeet Safalta said he had reported the matter to the poll panel. “It is a blatant attempt to influence the polls,” he said. State election commission chairman S.D. Sharma said he would take a final decision on the polls only after he received a report from the police, IT officials and his observers. “Information on recovery of cash from a Ranchi hotel barely 24 hours before civic polls in Ranchi and Bundu has been received over the phone. Our observers are already on the spot since early morning. In addition, personnel from the state intelligence, state police as well as from the investigation wing of the income tax department are there. We will wait for a written report before we initiate any action,” Sharma told The Telegraph. He said the commission was keeping tabs on other places and added that guilty candidates faced disqualification and strict action under the Indian Penal Code, income tax laws and provisions of the Jharkhand Municipal Act. While the police raid was going on, a team of income tax officials, led by additional director, investigation, Sandeep Rai reached the hotel and questioned Sharma and Sahu. In his statement to the police and IT department, Sahu said he was carrying out Sharma’s instructions. “I was not aware of what was inside these bags. Sharma asked me to carry bags and food packets to the hotel rooms,” he said. Sharma admitted the Congress was holding a scheduled meeting to discuss the civic elections, but remained tight-lipped about the money seized. The Congress dismissed the whole affair as a “conspiracy” against its party nominee (Khalkho). The former mayor herself alleged it was a conspiracy hatched by her opponents to tarnish her image. “We had our meeting. We had booked the fourth-floor for the meeting not the second floor from where the money was seized. My opponents are behind it,” she told The Telegraph. Congress’s principal rival, the BJP, jumped at the opportunity to target the party. It demanded immediate arrest of Khalkho and others involved. “Does the commission need more proof?” BJP candidate for mayor Ajay Tirkey said.

CBI locks horns with Assembly

CBI locks horns with Assembly - 2010 RS poll probe stuck over missing file row

VIJAY DEO JHA

The State Assembly building in Ranchi Ranchi; March 16: A CBI investigation into the cash-for-vote-stink that sullied the 2010 Rajya Sabha elections in Jharkhand has apparently hit a hurdle over some missing documents concerning one of the elected MPs and the state Assembly secretariat seems to be in the thick of it. The all-important file, that contains the opinion of then advocate general on whether JMM Rajya Sabha MP K.D. Singh was holding an office of profit at the time of his election, has gone missing from the secretariat. Pressured by the CBI on its whereabouts, senior officials of the Assembly secretariat were now trying their best to wriggle out of the mess by pinning the blame on a grade III employee working as personal assistant to one of them. Reacting to two reminders issued by the CBI, the secretariat issued notices to secretary and returning officer Kaushal Kishore Prasad and deputy secretary and assistant returning officer Ramsagar on March 7. Both denied any knowledge of the file, but pointed an accusing finger at Pankaj, a grade III Assembly employee. They said Pankaj, who was Prasad’s private assistant, was the one who had received the sealed envelope containing the AG’s legal opinion. “The file containing the legal opinion and proceedings are missing. The official entry suggests that Pankaj had received the dispatch. But an office clerk won’t sign and receive something unless it has been seen and okayed by the authorities concerned,” claimed an Assembly employee. Days before the 2010 Rajya Sabha polls, the secretariat sought the AG’s legal opinion on June 13 after BJP candidate Ajay Maroo challenged Singh’s nomination, alleging that as chairman of national meat and poultry processing board (NMPPB), under the Union ministry of food processing, he was holding an office of profit during the time of the Rajya Sabha elections. The AG’s opinion came in on June 17, the day of voting. Singh and Dhiraj Kumar Shahu (Congress) were declared elected the same evening. Later, Maroo challenged Singh’s election in Jharkhand High Court, which ruled against him. The CBI is conducting a probe into the 2010 cash-for-vote affair that is based on a damning television sting operation that allegedly showed five MLAs seeking money in exchange for their votes in favour of a particular Rajya Sabha. An FIR was lodged against the MLAs — Rajesh Ranjan, Yogendra Sao and Sawna Lakra (all Congress), Uma Shankar Yadav Akela (BJP) and Simon Marandi (JMM) — under Sections 8, 9 and 171 B of Prevention of Corruption Act along with Sections 120(B) and 34 of IPC on the instructions of the Election Commission. Later, the high court asked the CBI to take over investigations. The CBI believes the file containing the AG’s opinion was crucial to the case. The results of the election could not have been declared unless the returning office (Prasad) had gone through his opinion. “Also, you cannot blame a clerk just because he received it,” said an investigating officer. The mystery over the missing file has, in the meanwhile, deepened as sources in the Assembly claimed there was no mention of it in record books, something that could have helped the CBI track it. Secretary in-charge of the Assembly Samrendra Kumar Pandey admitted the file was missing. “The CBI wants this file and we are searching for it. Hopefully, we will get it. We have sought information from the returning officer and assistant returning officer,” he said. Prasad, however, refused to comment on the missing file. He has been under suspension since last year in connection with a controversy over his leave travel allowance claims. On Wednesday, a CBI team collected video footage of the MLAs’ speeches in the House from the Assembly secretariat. Sources claimed the officers would match these with voice samples from the recording that was aired by the television channel.

Man who conned a country

Man who conned a country - Police hunt for dubious cyber hero they posed with

VIJAY DEO JHA

Deepak Kumar A 35-year-old man, claimed to be among the country’s few ethical hackers and one who helped police of several states, including Jharkhand and Bihar, crack cyber crime, actually seems to have taken governments, media and police for a ride. Deepak Kumar, a native of Bihar’s Arwal district, has used his public relation skills, impressive CV that says he is an IIT alumnus and cleverly posed pictures with top police officers to con several individuals and institutions of big money. His dubious honour came to light in Ranchi on Thursday, when Emerald Hotel lodged a complaint with the local Doranda police, saying Kumar disappeared from his room after running a bill of Rs 35,000 over a month. “Deepak Kumar checked in on February 15 and was allotted room No. 307. He showed us his pictures with top Jharkhand police officers and made us believe he was on an official assignment. However, when one of our regular visitors expressed suspicions over his tall claims, we mounted pressure on him for payment of bill till day. Yesterday, he suddenly disappeared. When we called him on his phone, he threatened to use his clout against us,” said hotel manager Anil Jha. Kumar also seems to have swindled thousands of rupees out of half a dozen students of Doranda College, who came looking for him at the hotel on Friday. According to them, he had charged between Rs 14,000 and Rs 20,000 as advance for giving them laptops at 50 per cent discount under a special IIT scheme. The students had come in touch with Kumar in February, during a college seminar on hacking where he was the guest speaker. The seminar was attended by several top police officers, including DGP G.S. Rath and IG Sampat Meena, who were photographed with Kumar. Using these pictures, the latter had claimed to be training Jharkhand Police’s cyber crime division. He told policemen in the state that he had helped central agencies crack the Varanasi blast case. He told Kanpur Police he had developed a software to help them retrieve lost data. ADG S.N. Pradhan, who looks after the cyber cell, on Friday denied any association of the police department with Kumar. “He neither provided any training to Jharkhand Police nor is he associated with the department. Deepak Kumar is a fraud who has been fooling people,” the senior police officer said. Among the duped students are Mohit Kumar and Janual Abdin. “He took Rs 14,000 on February 21 from me. He even lied about having returned the amount to my account through cheque transfer when I asked where my laptop was,” Abdin told The Telegraph. Mohit, on the other hand, has been cheated of Rs 15,000. It is learnt that Kumar, on the same pretext, had taken Rs 16,700 from Chaibasa boy Sumit Gupta in 2011 while the latter was studying at an engineering cradle in Bhubaneswar. Sources in Patna said he had fleeced many there, including a journalist. Police are yet to locate Kumar. When contacted on his phone, he claimed to be at three different locations — Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Calcutta — around the same time. “I don’t know which case and what act of fraud you are talking about. I am in Calcutta right now,” he told The Telegraph. Students were told he is in Ranchi and would meet them later, while the hotel authorities heard he was in the steel city. That Deepak Kumar has outsmarted everyone is obvious from a Google search. A newspaper report hails him as “a renowned ethical hacker, invited to Australia to train local officers in solving cases of cyber crime”. It says he has trained officers in Germany, has a book on ethical hacking to his credit and has received awards from several state governments.

State wakes up to sleeper cell terror

State wakes up to sleeper cell terror

VIJAY DEO JHA

Ranchi, March 10: Suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) agent Manzar Imam (35), arrested from Ranchi on March 4, has divulged names of six aides and confirmed the existence of IM sleeper cells in Jharkhand, sounding a red alert on behind-the scenes activities that so far had managed to stay off the intelligence radar. Sleeper cells are support systems used by terror groups in places considered low-key, safe havens. Radical hard-liners use these cells to hide active agents pursued by police and intelligence personnel or prepare logistics before a big-ticket attack. Imam, arrested by a joint team of police and intelligence agencies from Kanke on March 4, and grilled both by city police and National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Ranchi and the NIA in Ernakulam, confessed to six aides from Ranchi and Ramgarh and their role in a sleeper cell. Federal agency NIA contacted intelligence counterparts based in Ranchi, which sent Union ministry of home affairs a report based on Imam’s confession. The report added the six suspects, all educated and without any criminal record, were “recruited and indoctrinated” by the IM to expand its terror base in Jharkhand. Imam’s name figured in several acts of terror, including the February 21 Hyderabad blasts. His close associate Danish Riyaz from Bariatu was arrested in Vadodara on June 21, 2011, in connection with Ahmedabad blasts. According to Imam, Salahuddin, Abrar and Haidar are from Ranchi, while Farhatullah, Muajamin and Hidayatullah are from Ramgarh. Intelligence sources refused to reveal details about them but hinted that Haidar was a frequent visitor to Aurangabad in Bihar as he was given the important assignment of creating similar network in the district’s Madanpur area. “All of them are under our close watch. It is a big network that operates in a secret manner. It is a part of a larger investigation,” said an intelligence source. Central intelligence agencies have also set alarm bells ringing by saying they have specific inputs on the flow of foreign funds in Jharkhand from West Asia to allegedly fund terror activity. Jharkhand, strategically located with hidden forest tracks to bordering states, can prove a useful hideout for terror networks as it has for Maoist cadres. Off and on, worrying reports of Jharkhand’s link with terror groups have surfaced since the US consulate attack in January 2002, when a suspect died in Khirpur, Hazaribagh. Only a concerted effort by state police intelligence, central agencies and military intelligence can bust terror networks and shelters. Jharkhand police also needs to sharpen its antennae. Insiders said state police two months ago refused to act on a specific tip-off about the consignment of sophisticated arms stocked in a densely populated area of Ranchi.

Your class enemies too have right Comrades

Your class enemies too have right Comrades
VIJAY DEO JHA
RANCHI   
They planted bomb in the belly of a dead CRPF jawan, Babulal Patel, grabbed another fateful to and yanked off his eyes, chopped private parts before finishing them during a bloody encounter in Latehar this gone week.They yell to move from ambush to ambush to wage wars on establishment, class enemy corporate interests that they allege are grabbing and fast belting land and resources of poor tribal: a fact or fancied fear.They repeatedly refer their commitment on June 2010 Document’ to wage violence as the central instrument of revolutionary overthrow of government by 2040. They refer their fight across the globe in standard radical discourse right from Philippines to Saranda and many a hitherto unknown locations in Jharkhand.When mutilated bodies of 10 dead jawans of the CRPF were collected from blistered Latehar datelines their commitment for the Geneva Convention dealing with ‘Prisoners of War’ and ‘Honour to dead,’ suffered a collateral damage in the battlefield.Three civilians too died during the single blast when they were allegedly forced by the security forces to collect bodies of two of their dead. Maoists had used them as booby trap by placing bodies on pressure bomb. This is something hunter versus hunter fight, each wearing victimhood as virtue, each portraying the other in villainy, each promising the portents of its calling. The very definition of ‘class enemy,’ method of brutal execution and mutilation of set conventions has long been debated in the top echelons of the CPI (Maoist).It was debated when Maoists had chopped head of Jharkhand police’s special branch officer Fransis Induwar in excess show of brutality. Induwar was a ‘Prisoner of War’ in Maoists’ own discourse. That time the then Second in Command of People’s Liberation of Guerrilla Army, Koteswar Rao, had admitted it as wrong saying the lower rung executed it without permission. And then the killing of poor cop, Lucas Tete, at Lakhisarai in Bihar of Induwar order, and, that poor cop at Bhandaria in Garhwa who was set on fire.  In both the case Maoists were criticized for targeting and killing the very poor tribal class on whose name they have been fighting. In between hundred got killed in similar fashion whose alleged association with class enemy or corporate interest were claimed and disputed by both sides.Noted radical Left ideologue GN Saibaba calls it a global propaganda. “Long back Maoists had set a clear guideline against brutal methods. There is no proof Maoist planted bomb in the belly. Why Maoist will waste their bomb and weapons in such things? This is cook and bull story,” Saibaba told the Pioneer over telephone. But the police counter the allegations of any kind.Last year the central committee of the CPI (Maoist) had announced to end cruel form of execution.  Maoist leader and spokesperson Manash had said: “Class enemies were killed by slitting their throat…we have decided to stop this. It has already been stopped more or less.” But dispatches from Latehar and mortuary of the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences come with disturbing confirmations.If one to believe Saibaba; security forces might have planted a bomb to plant a cock and bull story. “There are evidences that forces had used innocent villagers as human shield in Latehar,” he said. To Saibaba, the killing of Induwar was a sporadic case and such cases make Maoist leadership worried and they take corrective and punitive steps. The claim requires examples that are not too many and confirming. But he accepts the trend of brutal killing became prevalent after 1998.A senior journalist who has watched and reported Naxal movement calls it a simple of case of Maoists’ deviation from ideology and top leadership fast losing command over lower rung. “When they have guns in their hands they care little for ideology. Woefully Maoist movement has lost on destination,” he said.Something seems have lost in the claim and counter claim of welfare democracy and people’s revolution because this ongoing battle is red of hue and creed: bluntly, bullet for bullet, blood for blood.

Munda quits party post

Munda quits party post

VIJAY DEO JHA & RADHIKA RAMASESHAN

Arjun Munda Ranchi/Delhi, March 9: Former chief minister Arjun Munda has resigned as BJP legislature party leader, apparently miffed at not being considered for the job of heading the state unit in Jharkhand that is likely to see Assembly elections by the end of the year. In a one-line resignation letter sent to party president Rajnath Singh today, Munda is learnt to have said that he could “work conscientiously” for the party without “holding a formal position.” Singh welcomed the move. “Who gives up a post these days? It is a good gesture from Munda,” the BJP chief, who had played a key role in anointing Munda as chief minister, told The Telegraph in Delhi. According to sources, the BJP central leadership’s understanding was that the former Jharkhand chief minister had quit in pique after he realised he would not be asked to head the state party outfit. Apparently, Munda made it clear to the leadership that if it was disinclined towards him, the “next best choice” would be Ravinder Rai. Sources indicated that there was a toss-up between Rai and Raghuvar Das, with an “edge” to Rai. In Ranchi, Munda refused to say anything beyond a measured statement on the prevailing mist surrounding the appointment of the state BJP president. “The central leadership of the party is handling the matter,” he told The Telegraph. But with his party colleagues in the state, he was more forthright in indicating his displeasure. “Ab aap log party ko jaise chalana chahen waise chalyen. Maine aaplogon ke liye rasta saaf kar diya hai (Now you people run the party the way you like. I have cleared the way for you),” he is learnt to have told a senior state BJP leader as soon as word spread about his resignation. Some influential leaders in Delhi were pitching for Munda and argued that since it was a “given” that he would lead the BJP in the next Assembly elections, he should also be entrusted with the party’s command so that dual power centres — one helmed by the Jharkhand party chief and the other by the prospective chief ministerial candidate — were not created. However, it seems that view did not prevail. Asked about Munda’s future, Rajnath said, “He said clearly he was prepared to work without holding a post.” The BJP president refused to indicate who would take over the party in Jharkhand. But Rai, an upper caste Bhumihar, was emerging as a frontrunner, although it did not mean he would be the party’s chief ministerial face. Rajnath said the name would be announced soon. The rationale behind bringing in a non-tribal was to consolidate the votes of these groups that the BJP believe were among its core supporters. Tribal votes, the party leadership feels, were split between the BJP, Congress and regional parties.

Munda resigns as party legislative leader to stop Das’ elevation as state president

Munda resigns as party legislative leader to stop Das’ elevation as state president

Ranchi; March 9

Former Chief Minister and BJP leader Arjun Munda took leaf out of political book of his Rajasthan counterpart Vasundhara Raje Sindhiya — the resignation drama — to pressurize central BJP brass to anoint him or his nominee Ravindra Rai as state president.

In a one line resignation letter sent to the central BJP president this afternoon, Munda said that he wanted to resign from the post of party legislative leader so that he “could devote time to consolidate party in Jharkhand.” Munda in his letter, wished to work for the party “without holding any post.”  

However, a senior central BJP leader closely associated with the Jharkhand affair, refused to say resignation as Munda’s a measured protest against central party bosses after they put the name of Rai on hold following protest from a section of state BJP.

“Mundaji will have natural interest in the state BJP. He is one of the stakeholders. But I believe his name is under consideration for the post of national general secretary along with Amit Saha of Gujarat. His resignation may be due to because this under one-man-one-post principle,” the leader said.

But BJP insiders claimed Munda’s resignation was a timely act of pressure tactics as this afternoon central BJP was all set to announce the name of Munda’s arch rival, Raghubar Das, as next state president. Das as state president would not only reduce Munda’s fast dwindling grip over state unit it will firmly barricade his chief ministerial ambition. Munda is in no mood to play further inning in central politics to leave the state affairs controlled by his adversaries who are now a majority flock.

Munda’s resignation, party sources said, has forced central to put the matter of appointment on hold till a compromise formula is worked out.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Munda neither contradicted nor accepted his resignation. He was not ready to speak anything beyond measured statement over prevailing mist over state BJP president appointment, the issue that developed faultline among top rank leaders.

“Ab aap log party ko jaise chalana chahen waise chalyen. Maine aaplogon ke liye rasta saaf kar diya hai, Now you people run the party the way you like. I have cleared the way for you,” Munda is learnt to have told this to a top state BJP leader as soon as report of his resignation landed in public domain.

However, party insiders termed it Munda’s measured rebellion terming it who-blink-first-show as half of the state BJP including top party seniors like LS Deputy Speaker Karia Munda, former minister Yashwant Sinha, former state BJP president Raghubar Das, Saryu Rai and a good number of party MPs from Jharkhand opposed to proposed appointment of Rai.

“I don’t know why he chose to resign from legislative leader post when the very post holds no significance as assembly is in suspended animation. Mundaji had aggressively lobbied for Rai, Bur Rai remained a no-no because of his past association with Babulal Marandi and the way he had left the party after heaping insult on party patriarchs and our ideological figures like Deen Dayal Upadhyay,” a state BJP leader said.  

The tandem of Karia-Yashwant-Das arch rival of Munda has unveiled a spoke to puncture Munda’s bid to grab driver’s seat. Some three days back when Rajnath Singh was all set to announce Ravindra Rai as state head when Karia Munda in protest threatened to resign from the post of deputy speaker. Rajnath Singh, despite having close association with Munda can’t afford to please Munda by ignoring concerns of central BJP leaders like Lal Krishna Advani, Sushma Swaraj who are have already been briefed about open protest against the name of Ravindra Rai.

Munda’s resignation has now thrown up a prospect his rivals may relish and the BJP may find a bit tough to manage.

Prod for leads on Ranchi terror suspect

Prod for leads on Ranchi terror suspect

VIJAY DEO JHA

Ranchi, Feb. 24: The Hyderabad serial bomb blasts have put the state police on their toes yet again. Jharkhand police received a missive from the Union ministry of home affairs two days ago prodding the department for latest inputs on elusive Ranchi-based youth Manzar Imam, 35, who bears the same name as the one involved in the latest Hyderabad serial blasts, sources said. The central ministry wants to ascertain any possible connection of Imam with Thursday’s twin blasts, as he is known to be among the top 12 men on the ranks of militant group Indian Mujahideen. Jharkhand’s border districts such as Dumka, Pakur, Sahebganj and Jamtara which are prone to illegal immigration, as well as Hazaribagh, Dhanbad and Ranchi have been given special instruction as there have been reports of Indian Mujahideen’s sleeper cells operating in these places, a top police official confided. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the role of Imam and one of the friends, Danis Reyaz (under judicial custody), in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bombing case, is slated to attach movable properties of the Ranchi youth soon. In December 2012, the NIA could not attach his property due to some technical issues. “We are freshly scanning and verifying records of people whose conducts may be doubtful. We have information that a suspect of the same name belongs to Bihar. I believe investigations into the Hyderabad blasts are in the initial phase. Let a clear picture emerge. But it is a fact that Ranchi boy Imam, as evidences suggest, has clear terror connection,” DGP G.S. Rath told The Telegraph. He pointed out that the state police did not have any intelligence input about “direct or indirect links of Jharkhand in the Hyderabad episode”. He added: “But owing to the fact that there exists sleeper cells of IM in some parts of Jharkhand we have sounded a high alert. We appeal to citizens to alert the police about any suspicious objects and persons in their areas.” According to intelligence sources, Imam who allegedly joined IM’s terror camp along with 40 others at Thangalpara forest in Kottayam district of Kerala in 2008, is among the top operatives of the outfit. “As long as he does not turn up to prove his innocence, he will be seen as a suspect whenever IM triggers terror strikes. IM is a closely-knit group. There are evidence of Imam’s close association with top IM operatives like Yasin Bhatkal,” said a top intelligence official. Police officers, however, declined to speak in detail about security measures and alerts. Sources said the districts bordering Bengal that are prone to illegal immigration owing to proximity with Bangladesh had been specifically told to remain alert. The name of Imam, a resident of Bariatu in Ranchi, surfaced in the Ahmedabad bomb blasts case following confessions by Reyaz, an IM member. Reyaz, also a resident of Bariatu, was arrested from Baroda in Gujarat. “Manzar Imam would have been arrested in July 2011 when an NIA team had raided his house in Ranchi, as he was in the city. We doubt this highly secret operation was leaked and Imam managed to flee,” said an intelligence official. Sources did not rule out the possibility of Imam escaping to Nepal or Bangladesh. The NIA has moved a Hyderabad court to seek fresh order to attach movable properties of Imam in Bariatu. Manzar Imam, alias Manzar Imam Ali, is said to have received terror training at one of the camps of IM in Kerala. A case was registered against Imam and 40 others in Kerala. After the investigation was transferred to the NIA, it lodged a fresh case in Hyderabad under different sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

Autos spare hike spiral, but fare pinch if reserved

Autos spare hike spiral, but fare pinch if reserved VIJAY DEO JHA An auto-rickshaw being refilled in Ranchi on Sunday, after the petrol price hike. Picture by Hardeep Singh Ranchiites dreading yet another jump in auto-rickshaw fares after the latest hike in fuel prices are in for a pocket-friendly surprise. The unions have promised that you will be charged the existing fare, but with the condition that you will only feel the pinch — a prickly 10 per cent extra — if you reserve petrol-driven auto-rickshaws. The price of petrol was hiked by Rs 1.50 per litre and diesel by 45 paise nationally on Friday. In Ranchi, however, the hike is Rs 1.80 for petrol and 53 paise for diesel as the state administration charges 20 and 18 per cent as value added tax respectively. The two auto-rickshaw unions in the state capital — Chotanagpur Taxi Tempo Driver Union and Jharkhand Pradesh Diesel Auto Chalak Mahasangh — announced not to increase auto fares after a decision on Saturday. There are around 1,000 petrol-operated auto-rickshaws, whereas the number of diesel-run autos is nearly 8,000 in and around Ranchi. “Though we will suffer minor losses, we are not going to raise the fare for the time being. In Ranchi, petrol will now cost Rs 68.48 and diesel Rs 50.33 per litre. But the next time there is a diesel price hike, we will have no option but to raise the fare,” said Shakil Akhtar, the president of Chotanagpur Taxi Tempo Driver Union. Last year in June, diesel auto fares saw a hike of Re 1, besides Rs 2 for the two-wheelers running on petrol. Chotanagpur Taxi Tempo Driver Union monitors diesel-run auto-rickshaws, while Jharkhand Pradesh Diesel Auto Chalak Mahasangh takes care of petrol-driven autos. Asked about frequent complaints against auto drivers arbitrarily charging money from passengers in the name of fuel hike, Akhtar said the union was planning to hold a meeting next week to discuss the issue. “We do receive such complaints. It is mandatory for every member of the union to display a fare chart. We are going to hold a meeting next week. The problem is that the district administration, too, never issued any directive for a clear-cut rule on increase in fare,” he said. Jharkhand Pradesh Diesel Auto Chalak Mahasangh president Dinesh Soni told The Telegraph: “We were forced to hike fare big 10 per cent in case of passengers who reserve petrol-operated auto-rickshaws. The increase is quite minimal. But fare for unreserved autos has not been increased.” Soni said the organisation would soon inform authorities at the prepaid taxi stands in Ranchi Railway Station and other places about the decision. Interestingly, a faction of the organisation led by Lankesh has not made any decision to this effect. A 10 per cent increase will make a substantial difference for passengers. For instance, those who were earlier charged Rs 200 to travel from Gandhinagar (Kanke Road) to Ranchi Railway Station would now have to pay another Rs 20. “We know that auto-rickshaws do not run on water. But any increase in fare must be logical, even if somebody reserves an auto. There are cases of arbitrary hike only because the district administration fails to regularise fare,” argued Deepak Prasad, a resident of Gandhinagar. Could the 10 per cent fare hike in petrol autos be avoided?

State chief by Feb. 20

State chief by Feb. 20

VIJAY DEO JHA

Ranchi, Feb. 8: The BJP national general secretary and Jharkhand in-charge, Dharmendra Pradhan, arrived in Ranchi today to gauge the mood of a divided leadership over the appointment of a state party president. Pradhan convened an hour-long meeting of the core committee this afternoon. The general secretary dropped hints that the party chief would be named by February 20. The meeting, however, was marked by the glaring absence of former party chief Raghubar Das. Das told The Telegraph he skipped the meeting due to personal reasons. In an official statement earlier, the party said Pradhan was scheduled to hold a meeting of the core committee to discuss the emerging political scenario in the state in the wake of President’s Rule after the fall of the Arjun Munda-led coalition in January. Party insiders confided that Pradhan is scheduled to hold one-to-one meeting with top leaders during his two-day stay to draw consensus over the state unit president’s post. The scramble for the top job has resulted in a faction-ridden BJP. Former chief Das, who returned on Wednesday after a weeklong visit to Delhi and Nagpur to lobby his prospects, is opposed to former chief minister Arjun Munda. His grouse is that Munda has been trying to gain one-upmanship in the party by projecting himself for the state president’s post or any of his confidants in the worst case. Today’s meeting was attended by 11 members including Munda, Yashwant Sinha and state president Dineshanand Goswami.

Injured recall station horror

Injured recall station horror - Ranchi elder among injured in UP stampede

VIJAY DEO JHA

Devotees wait to board a train at Allahabad station on Monday. AFP photo Ranchi, Feb. 11: Three pilgrims from Jharkhand were injured in yesterday’s station stampede in Allahabad that left 36 dead, while one is missing. Retired schoolteacher from Ranchi Ganga Prasad Yadav (70) had gone to attend the Mahakumbh Mela with four family members. Yadav fractured his leg in the melee and is undergoing treatment at the Tej Bahadur Sapru Hospital in Allahabad, but more worryingly, his nephew Lakhan (35) is missing. The two other injured pilgrims from the state are shop owner Ajay Prasad Gupta (40) from Latehar and homemaker Parvati (50) from Dhanbad. “The station was teeming with people. I was caught unawares when all of a sudden people started running from one platform to another. Within moments I was on the ground and people were running over me. I saw so many people dying in front of me even as I struggled to save myself,” a feeble Yadav told The Telegraph over telephone. His only plea was that someone should locate his missing nephew. Commenting on Yadav’s condition, senior medical officer of the hospital Dr R.S. Thakur said: “Yadav has been complaining of severe muscular pain and was admitted here last night. Routine check-up has been done and he is under observation.” Gupta is also admitted in the same hospital with similar complaints. “Pichhle janm me shayad koi punya tha, so bach gaye (I might have done some good in my previous birth so I am safe),” Gupta said. Recalling the incident, he added that a footbridge collapsed as people rushed to platform 6 from platform 2 to catch a Howrah-bound train. “All of a sudden there was an announcement that the train will arrive on another platform and people started rushing. At the same time, the police resorted to mindless lathi-charge, hitting anybody in sight, leading to a stampede,” he said, adding that he was worried as he had not been able to contact his family back home. Homemaker Parvati has been admitted in Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital (SRNH) with fractures and bruises. As she was in no condition to talk, senior medical officer of the hospital Ajay Saxena said her condition was stable. Superintendent-in-chief of SRNH Shradha Dwivedi said as most of the injured admitted in the hospital are in a state of shock, it had not been possible to collect their details. A helpline number — 0532-2256006 — had been set up to provide information about patients. Meanwhile, Ranchi railway station has given special instructions to booking counters to provide tickets on priority basis to people who want to visit Allahabad to meet their near and dear ones who are either missing or convalescing in hospitals. “Though we are not running any special trains, instructions have been issued to provide tickets to such people on priority basis. They can personally ask me for any help,” Ranchi DRM Gajanan Mallya said.

MoU signed for tech cradles

MoU signed for tech cradles

AMIT GUPTA & VIJAY DEO JHA

Science and technology director Arun Kumar and chief operating officer of Techno India Suman Chatterjee exchange files as chief secretary SK Choudhary (centre) and governor’s adviser K Vijay Kumar look on in Ranchi on Tuesday. Picture by Prashant Mitra Ranchi, Feb. 5: The state science and technology department today signed an MoU with a Calcutta-based company to run two engineering colleges in Chaibasa (West Singhbhum) and Dumka — the firsts in both districts — on public-private partnership (PPP) basis. Governor’s adviser K. Vijay Kumar, under whose presence the agreement with Techno India Group was signed, termed the partnership a welcome move to spread technical education in Jharkhand, adding the state had the potential to emerge as a hub in this regard. “It will also benefit the poor and unprivileged classes which cannot afford high costs for technical education,” he said. Director of state science and technology department Arun Kumar told The Telegraph: “According to the agreement, 53 per cent of the state’s students can avail of education at rates fixed by the government in the Chaibasa institute, while the percentage will be 21 per cent in Dumka.” The authorities are expecting Techno India — which has also been roped in by the department for an engineering institute and polytechnic at Ramgarh and Silli — would manage to gain approval from All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) to start courses at Chaibasa and Dumka from this academic session (2013-14). Kumar said that to start with, 300 seats each would be on offer at the Chaibasa and Dumka cradles, with a break-up of 60 for five separate trades. But, he added, the final approval from AICTE would be crucial. Chief operating officer of Techno India Group Suman Chatterjee said, “Jharkhand is our focus area. We are planning more such projects in Jharkhand in the coming days. The state’s response has been very encouraging. We would certainly like to continue partnering the department of science and technology.” Techno India will admit 25 per cent of the seats based on its own entrance test while 75 per cent berths will be filled up through the Jharkhand Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board, a state entity that conducts tests for engineering, medical, agriculture, forestry, veterinary and other courses. The company will be responsible to run the institutes for 30 years on licence. Its role will include upgrade, operation, maintenance and management according to AICTE norms, besides securing and maintenance at its cost all applicable permits/approvals/licences, et al. Chaibasa, the headquarters of West Singhbhum which is known for its vast mineral reserves and faced with the Naxalite menace in several pockets including Saranda, lacks an engineering college till date. Dumka, too, is deprived of an engineering college, though BIT-Mesra runs an extension centre in neighbouring Deoghar district. Sources said the college building in Chaibasa was complete, while few tasks including electrification were pending in the upcoming institute in Dumka. The authorities are hopeful about readying the buildings within a couple of months. The colleges were supposed to start functioning two years ago, but the laggard government machinery failed to take the projects off the ground. Chief secretary S.K. Choudhary, development commissioner Debashish Gupta, additional chief secretary Vinod Agrawal who holds the science and technology portfolio, industry secretary A.P. Singh and his urban development department counterpart Nitin Madan Kulkarni were also present during the signing of the MoU at Project Building this afternoon

All work and no play in babudom - Leave nixed, chai-paani denied, bureaucracy sweats under central rule

VIJAY DEO JHA & AMIT GUPTA

Work is our worship: Employees at Project Building in Dhurwa, Ranchi, pore over files on a busy day last week. Picture by Hardeep Singh Ranchi, Feb. 12: A for adda, Z for zzz. That’s the A to Z of Jharkhand’s babudom or so popular wisdom went before President’s Rule started on January 18. Less than a month later, W stands for work and workstations. Junk all clichés of “forty winks, files for swatting flies and chai-paani” into the nearest waste bin and watch the power corridors of Project Building, the state’s main bureaucratic hub, hum with busy efficiency. President’s Rule has jerked awake snoozing babudom. Red tape is now sweating on the corporate treadmill. Well, almost. Catch a section officer of the state personnel department hurriedly disposing and dispatching pending files. To avoid interruptions, he has placed a “Do not disturb” placard on his table. “Jaldi karoji, tezi se haath chalao (Faster man, move your hands faster),” the babu scolds his junior. Asked about the placard, he said: “I’m busy, can’t be interrupted, can’t risk keeping a file pending. I need to clear them all by this evening.” Democracy, for all its obvious virtues of freedom and choice, has not been able to conjure up this marvel. There’s more. A circular was issued weeks ago asking employees to reach office on time. But there was no mention of the closing time. Fresh applications for leave are not being entertained till March-end. The clear message — come on time, work hard, fast and smart, do not watch the clock. Personnel sources said at least seven employees across different government departments received showcause for sauntering in late to office. “We have become very punctual in our work. By 10.30am sharp everybody is at work. It is our daily routine. The new regime has indeed brought changes. You can feel it everywhere,” Nand Kumar Thakur, an under secretary rank official, said. Jharkhand’s two “tough taskmasters” — governor Syed Ahmed’s advisers Madhukar Gupta and K. Vijay Kumar — are indeed living up to their reputations. They are working late and setting the tone for all the other bureaucrats. Even senior officials are toeing the line, said a babu snidely. “Earlier, seniors came late, left early, threw their weight around and no one questioned them. Now, you will see them in their chairs. And they are also working,” he said, grinning. The reason is too well-known. “At the state guest house, the official residence of the advisers, work goes till late evening. So everyone here has to stay back till Gupta and Kumar work. The advisers also ask for status reports, host marathon meetings at Project Building till late evening, set the agenda. For instance, they asked secretaries concerned to furnish details of pending projects and amount spent. The fiscal is ending so budgetary details have to be ready.” Kumar is chairing meetings every second day, seeking precise data on pending projects. Gupta, another stickler for speedy work, is disposing of at least 50 files a day. So, is workaholism suiting everyone? It has been disorienting for those used to a snail’s pace. “Too much of workload all of a sudden,” an official of the department of cabinet coordination said diplomatically. “They want everything precise and complete. They want daily reports. They even got us digging into old and forgotten files. It is good for those who want to work.” Not good for those who want to relax and earn their sarkari salaries. Not good for betel and tea shops in and around Project Building too. Paan shop owner Om Prakash has been quick to sense the pulse of change and the plunge in his business. “Office time mein yahan pakde jayenge to action hoga. Do logon ko warning bhi mili hai. Mera income gira hai,” he rues. More work, less paan. “Will President’s Rule stay for long?” he wonders.

Hemant running out of ideas

Hemant running out of ideas

VIJAY DEO JHA

Ranchi, Feb. 7: Hemant Soren, former deputy chief minister and JMM’s heir-apparent, is faced with a serious crisis as partymen are getting restless and want him to come out with a political plan in the wake of President’s Rule in Jharkhand. Hemant’s chief ministerial ambition has already been forestalled in the wake of the Congress leadership spurning his proposal to form an alternative government in the state after the JMM withdrew support from the Arjun Munda- led coalition. As of now, the prospects of forming an alternative dispensation look bleak even though he accompanied party chief Shibu Soren to Delhi last month and spent a couple of days there trying to convince senior Congress leaders. Ultimately, the father-son duo returned, but only with half-hearted assurances that their plea would be looked at afresh after the Union Budget was placed in Parliament. So far, Hemant has managed to keep his flock together with no one speaking out against him openly. But privately, many have started questioning his leadership abilities. “It’s one thing to be the son of the party chief and another thing to project political maturity,” said a senior JMM MLA. “He (Hemant) pulled out of the coalition without proper homework, blindly believing state Congress leaders who convinced him about their party’s support. He seems to have no clear vision about the future.” Party MLA Vidyut Baran Mahto refused to talk about Hemant’s political acumen, but agreed that many within the party weren’t quite sure about him. But Hemant is trying to reassert himself in his own way. Recently, he addressed two well-attended JMM rallies in Dumka and Dhanbad where he appealed to the Congress once again to help the party form a government. However, insiders feel that the JMM’s indecisiveness will rob the party of political space in future. “These rallies were successful. We have waited for a month to know the response of like-minded forces on government formation. Now, we should take a decision,” party MLA Shashank Sekhar Bhokta said. Hemant, those close to him say, still harbours hopes of being able to persuade the Congress. He believes that for the Congress, the JMM is the only party it can choose as an ally to fight the 2014 parliamentary and Assembly elections. But, senior JMM leaders like Hemlal Murmu contest this position. “Only Hemantji can explain his silence,” he said.