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Monday, August 5, 2013
JMM plays second fiddle
Six takes
oath as minister
VIJAY DEO
JHA
Ranchi;
August 4: The second cabinet expansion of the Hemant Soren government this
morning at Raj Bhavan, with six ministers sworn in by Governor Syed Ahmed, was
marked by glaring absenteeism of probable hopefuls whom today’s expansion left
high and dry or those doubtful about their chance in third and final expansion of
the cabinet likely anytime after August 10.
Only the initiated and the interested came.
None among
JMM’s front runner for ministerial posts; Hemlal Murmu, Lobin Hembrom, Polush
Surin were seen in the exclusive gallery of politicians. That was the case with
a couple of leaders from the Congress like Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mannan Mallik,
Chandrasekhar Dubey and KN Tripathi who said personal reasons behind their
non-attendance.
Independent
MLA and Congress’ new found friend, Bandhu Tirkey, who is jostling for
ministerial post from Congress quota decided to stay-off the ceremony along
with MLA friend Chamra Linda. As one prominent absentee later remarked: “Attending
such ceremony twice and thrice is not necessary when your presence is not
required…this was only a continuation of what they couldn’t finish at one go.”
Hemlal Murmu
was rhythmical yet forthcoming. “Party ka
nirnay sarvopari. Sahi samay par sahi baat,” he said. Sarfaraz Ahmed will
throw an iftar party in his
constituency. Tripathi is in Delhi on personal visit. Mallik is in Dhanbad
observing Ramadan. Chandrasekhar Dubey today is learnt to have threatened state
leadership imminent revolt if the party does okay his name for third expansion.
The oath
taking formalities remained too short even for those who this event was arranged
— close to one and half minute of first personal singular monosyllabic lead-ins
from Governor— “main” and then “main” again —repeated 12 times
over. Six took oath today: Gitashree Oraon (Congress), Suresh Paswan (RJD), Jay
Prakash Bhai Patel, Simon Marandi, Champai Soren and Hazi Hussain Ansari.
Around 10.55
Governor, Syed Ahmed, occupied the seat. He wisely decided to administer them
oath en-mass rather than summoning them one by one. Gitashree Oraon with her
impressive and booming voice was dominating others as thought they taking part
in some reading competitions. Champai and Jay Prakash Bhai Patel were rather
muttering and Simon Marandi was in no hurry to finish the text along with them.
He took extra half minute to finish.
Happy to be
minister Simon later on provided valid reasons. “Jab oath hi lena hai to harbari kya hai. Dekhoji jaldi kaam shaitan ka
hota hai.” But in the process Simon had afforded the occasion a rare relief
from routine.
None seemed
more pleased than the oversized contingent of Jay Prakash Bhai from Mandu and
Hazaribagh. Around 30 of his relatives turned out at Raj Bhavan as special
invitees. Rest were not far behind who had carted their supporters in SUVs. Jay
Prakash Bhai Patel scored a first today as youngest minister in any of the
state governments in Jharkhand; Patel the younger son of former JMM leader
Teklal Mahato wasn’t permitting anyone to leave without that uniqueness
underlined.
For
Gitashree, it seemed like a restart of her family tradition in politics after
her father and late Congress stalwart Kartik Oraon. “From housewife to minister
is never expected this thing to happen.”
Soon after
the oath senior JMM and Congress leaders huddled in a close door meeting to
finalize portfolios including Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Congress chief
Sukhdeo Bhagat, CLP leader and minister Rajendra Prasad Singh.
The oath
ceremony gave ample hints to JMM and Congress bosses about seething unrest in
the party. “Three more ministers from Congress quota are to take oath. It will
be declared very soon. The party takes into account all factors,” Bhagat said.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Ahmed’s media talk a gentle snub for disgruntled leaders
Ahmed’s
media talk a gentle snub for disgruntled leaders
VIJAY
DEO JHA
Ranchi;
May 29: When Governor Syed Ahmed, a week back, planned to meet state media he
decided to send a veiled message to his critics in the Congress through the
press conference that he holds control over administration and governance and
has center’s baking too.
Sources
in the state Congress admitted that Ahmed’s yesterday press conference was a
kind of snub for his bashers in the state party unit who have been lobbying for
his removal from Jharkhand and those who accused his for delivering a dud
during four months of President’s rule.
“There
is no coordination between Governor and two of his advisors…little development have
taken place. In such a condition the Congress will face disadvantages during
elections because we have nothing to showcase as achievements. The press
conference is an elaborate reply for us,” a senior state Congress leader
accepted.
Ahmed
took charge of governance after imposition of President’s rule in January 18, this
year following the fall of the Arjun Munda led coalition government.
Addressing
the media for around 90 minutes at state’s Suchana Bhawan, Ahmed speaking in
chaste Urdu mixed with Hindi did not give even a slight hint of differences
cropping up in the last two months.
But
Ahmed’s opening statement was sufficient to explain as to what he wanted to
convey to the flock clamouring against him in Delhi Darbar.
“Delhi ne mujhe do behtar advisor diye hain jo
umda kaam kar rahe hain aur agar niyat sahi hogi niti bhi sahi hi hogi, (Delhi
Those
in the Congress who regularly snubbed him indirectly over claimed developments
as a mere paper truism, his back office distributed a thick document of
achievements.
Ironically,
when opposition lambasted Ahmed and his press conference as ‘a mere recital of
script prepared by the Congress’ none from the state Congress came to defend or
praise him.
State
Congress leaders have been complaining that they are not heard by the Governor and
his advisors in the matter of governance hence their appointments are not going
to help the party politically in the electoral politics.
On
May 19, during party workers meeting in Ranchi
“State
is a huge subject it should be run politically and administratively which they
should know. Former Jharkhand Governor K. Sankaranarayanan
had an understanding of this,” Sahay told The Telegraph.
Ahmed
is no more a ‘blue eye boy’ of the Congress and even Sahay seems to have
distanced himself from Ahmed. Raj Bhawan insiders confided that neither
Governor nor his advisors are willing to bend beyond a point to accommodate
personal and political wishes of state Congress leaders including in the matter
of transfer- posting of officials as well as appointments.
A
fortnight back when a state Congress leader paid a courtesy visit to Governor,
Ahmed lightly asked the leader had he any wish list for transfer and posting.
Ahmed,
who goes by every news reports as he told the media, must have gone through
those unpleasant remarks made by some of the Congress leaders against
governance during President’s rule in Jharkhand. Ahmed ended his press
conference with a polite reminder. “I may commit mistakes during my works. Let
me know about it,” he sounded suing for peace, at last.
Monday, May 13, 2013
New tribal face for state Congress |
||
Ranchi/New Delhi, May 13: The
Congress today appointed Sukhdeo Bhagat (47) as the Jharkhand Pradesh
Congress Committee (JPCC) president, amid growing clamour in favour of
Rajya Sabha MP Pradeep Kumar Balmuchu who was hoping for an extension.
The decision,
thereby, foiled a last-ditch effort by Balmuchu, who was planning a
massive tribal rally in Ranchi on May 19 — with Rahul Gandhi in
attendance — to impress upon the party high command his “worthiness”.
The Congress
central leadership, however, was not keen to extend his tenure. With the
change in guard, the rally has also been postponed. Sources close to
party vice-president Rahul revealed he wanted the new state leadership
to take a fresh call on the proposed tribal meet.
Bhagat’s
appointment became apparent on Saturday when party president Sonia
Gandhi summoned him to her residence in Delhi and asked him to prepare
for the big job.
State Congress
in-charge Shakeel Ahmed said a notification in this regard was issued in
the afternoon today. “He is comparatively young and popular. We hope
that he will energise the party,” he said.
Soon after the
announcement was made by party general secretary Janardan Dwivedi in
Delhi today, Bhagat, a prominent tribal leader who belongs to the Oraon
tribe, said, “We have a strong base of activists in the state. The
challenge before me is to encourage them to take up people’s causes.
“I will also try to work towards better co-ordination between senior party leaders and activists at the ground level.”
A former Jharkhand
state administrative officer who did his MPhil from Delhi University,
Bhagat has been elevated to the state’s top post at a time when the
support base and electoral fortunes of the faction-ridden party have
taken a hit. In Jharkhand, the party is already divided in two major
factions lead by two party stalwarts Balmuchu and Subodh Kant Sahay,
respectively.
“It will be a
tightrope walk for Bhagat. He will get only six months to streamline
everything as the Assembly polls are expected at the end of this year,” a
Congress leader said.
Bhagat, a former
MLA from Lohardaga, and Sisai MLA Gitashree Oraon were the front runners
for the job. But, being a rookie in politics and lesser known figure,
the daughter of former Congress stalwart Kartik Oraon had make way for
him.
According to
sources, Rahul wanted a non-controversial name from the tribal
community, preferably from the Sarna faith, to reconnect the party with
its tribal and non-tribal constituents.
Balmuchu, who was
in office for more than seven years, is a Christian belonging to the Ho
tribe and apparently, there was no known face who could replace him,
except Bhagat — considered to be close to the Gandhi scion.
By and large,
Christian tribals are still with the Congress in Jharkhand. With BJP
trying to regain its hold over tribals belonging to the Sarna faith
through RSS-backed organisations, Bhagat seems to be the Congress answer
to the saffron party’s tactics.
Followers of the Sarna faith, which, the RSS claims, is very close to Hinduism, have been seeking a distinct identity.
It was their
undaunted support that had helped Congress stalwarts like Bandi Oraon
and Kartik Oraon to rise to fame. In fact, this was why Rahul, during
his meeting with Bhagat and other senior state leaders on March 21, had
suggested programmes to win back this tribal community.
Bhagat, too, came
to limelight in 2003, banking on the Sarna issue. Still a civil servant,
he had taken on RSS leader Ashok Varshney when he had referred to the
Sarnas as Vanvashis. Bhagat had objected saying the RRS was trying to
“kill the distinct identity of the Sarnas”. Eventually, he joined the
Congress in 2005 and won the Lohardaga seat in the Assembly elections.
Though he lost the constituency in 2009, his stature and popularity in
the party had constantly grown, said party insiders.
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Balmuchu’s battle for survival
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| VIJAY DEO JHA |
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Ranchi, May 11:
The cold war between Pradeep Balmuchu and Shakeel Ahmed, two leaders
central to the Congress’s fortunes in Jharkhand, has now turned into a
shadow boxing match with both leaders trying to out-manoeuvre each other
under the watchful eyes of Delhi.
Balmuchu, in a
last-ditch effort to stay on as state party chief, is banking on a
tribal rally he proposes to hold in Ranchi on May 19 with Rahul Gandhi
in attendance.
Ahmed on the other
hand is using all his powers as Delhi’s pointsman looking after party
affairs in Jharkhand to convince anyone who is willing to listen that
Balmuchu must go. The duo has never really seen eye to eye. But, it
seems the gloves are off now.
So keen is
Balmuchu to have Rahul Gandhi, he has already changed the rally dates
thrice — from May 4, 11 and 18 — to accommodate his schedule.
He is now using
his best contacts in the national capital — Union rural development
minister Jairam Ramesh is among them — to ensure Rahul’s presence, but
according to those who are close to the Gandhi scion, he is not going to
be available for the May 19 show as well.
This apart,
Balmuchu is also trying his best to have Ahmed replaced as the
Congress’s Jharkhand in-charge. In fact, a lobby within the state party,
spearheaded by Balmuchu and Dhiraj Sahu, is pushing for Ramesh to be
made the man in charge, hoping to time their campaign alongside a
reshuffle of the central party administration now that Karnataka has
swung back to the Congress fold.
But Ahmed sounded
sceptical of any change at the top now. “There may or may not be such a
move now,” he said. “There may be some people who may not like my style
of functioning. I am a man of the organisation. Jahan party mujhe lagayegi wahan jayenge (I will fit in wherever the party shifts me).”
A Congress
office-bearer also dismissed suggestions that Ahmed’s job was under
threat. “It is a six months’ old move. Balmuchu wants a favourable man.
Ahmed doesn’t fit into his scheme of things because he knows where the
problems lie. Balmuchu never arranges any public programme for him.
Ahmed is a serious worker of the party,” he explained.
Last month, a
group of pro-Balmuchu Congressmen in Delhi had nearly succeeded in
convincing the central leadership about sending Ahmed to Bihar to
counter RJD’s Lalu Prasad. But Ahmed wasn’t interested.
As national
spokesperson for the Congress, Ahmed holds charge of Bengal, Andman
& Nikobar, besides Jharkhand. During the last two years, Ahmed has
won the appreciation of the party rank and file here for his down to
earth nature who is loath to promote factionalism.
Balmuchu’s dislike
for Ahmed is perhaps understandable. Last year, after his visit to
Jharkhand, Rahul Gandhi asked him to speak to the party rank and file
and furnish a report on the reasons behind the Congress’s electoral
failure in Jharkhand.
Ahmed’s report went against Balmuchu, and rightly so.
Balmuchu wanted to
form a new team last year. Ahmed put his foot down, saying that only
the central party leadership could take such a call.
He even opposed
Balmuchcu’s move to appoint loyalists like Keshav Mahato Kamlesh,
Kalipad Soren, Nita Devi and Madan Mohan Sharma as chiefs of
boards/corporations after President’s Rule was imposed.
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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.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
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Monday, April 8, 2013
Cash haul sullies poll mood Congress in thick of money muddle
Cash haul sullies poll mood
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| VIJAY DEO JHA | |||||
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.
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Sunday, March 17, 2013
CBI locks horns with Assembly
CBI locks horns with Assembly- 2010 RS poll probe stuck over missing file row | ||
| VIJAY DEO JHA | ||
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.
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Saturday, March 16, 2013
Man who conned a country
Man who conned a country
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| VIJAY DEO JHA | ||
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.
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Monday, March 11, 2013
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.
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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.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Munda quits party post
Munda quits party post | ||
| VIJAY DEO JHA & RADHIKA RAMASESHAN | ||
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.
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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.
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