Webinfosys's Local News : CBI quizzes Ashok Todi and brothers, Snehasish Ganguly too

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday interrogated industrialist Ashok Todi in connection with the mysterious death of his son-in-law Rizwanur Rahman.

Cricketer Sourav Ganguly's brother Snehasish, who is a director in Todi's company Lux Cozi, was also called in for questioning at 11.20 am and Todi's brothers Pradip and Anil were questioned too, a senior CBI official told reporters.

Ganguly has admitted to introducing the industrialist to former police commissioner and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Prasun Mukherjee -- who was moved from his post following the controversy over the death of Rizwanur, found with his head smashed on September 21, barely a month after his marriage with Todi's daughter Priyanka.

On Tuesday, four police officials, including two top IPS officers, were interrogated by the CBI in the case. Rizwanur was allegedly hounded by the police after the wedding.

The two senior police officers questioned were former deputy commissioner (headquarters) Gyanwant Singh and deputy commissioner (detective department) Ajoy Kumar. Prasun Mukherjee is also likely to face CBI interrogation.

"We have interrogated them - IPS officers Gyanwant Singh and Ajoy Kumar - and they have said a lot of things. We have recorded their statements," CBI joint director Arun Kumar told reporters.

"We are comparing their statements with the statements recorded by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID)," he said.

Back To Index Page

Webinfosys's Local News : CPI-Maoist takes responsibility for massacre of 18 people

The outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) has taken responsibility for the massacre of 18 people, including former chief minister Babulal Marandi's son, in Chilkhari village of Jharkhand's Giridih district.

"Our main target was Nunulal Marandi, the brother of Babulal Marandi. Nunulal was instrumental in the killing of several CPI-Maoist members and he has been raising his voice against our revolutionary movement," Avinash, secretary of Banka, Bhagalpur, Jamui and Munger area committee, said in a statement issued Tuesday.

Maoist rebels dressed in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) uniforms Saturday attacked Chilkhari, about 290 km from here, while the villagers were engrossed in watching a cultural programme organised by Nunalal Marandi.

Babulal Marandi was also expected to attend the programme but wasn't able to do so. However, his younger son Anup attended the event and was killed along with 17 others when the guerrillas fired indiscriminately at the gathering.

Police have lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against 20 Maoist rebels and accused 10 of them for the attack.

As Chilkhari lies near the Jharkhand-Bihar border, police forces of both the states are undertaking a joint search for the Maoists involved in the attack. Police sources said paramilitary forces are also involved in the joint operation.

According to sources, a central team that is visiting the state to take stock of the situation has expressed unhappiness over the deployment of paramilitary forces.

Back To Index Page

Webinfosys's Local News : India is more important for us than Pakistan: US

The United States has said that broad-based partnerships between America and India are critical and more important as compared to Pakistan, as New Delhi is growing as a potential power with global influence.

"The US-India strategic potential is very, very profound," Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for South and South East Asia James Clad told online journalists and bloggers during a conference call from the Pentagon.

While India's sometimes contentious neighbour, Pakistan, continues to search for Osama bin Laden and help wage the global war on terrorism, Clad explained, the US-Indian relationship is more important in the long run.

"India simply must, as a long term consideration, matter more for us than Pakistan," Clad has been quoted as saying in the American Forces Press Services.

"India is seen as a potentially power with global reach," Clad said.

"It's been slow in coming - I think it will be slow in coming in the future - but it is steady. The trend lines are unmistakable," he said.

Clad said India is on a major course to ramp up its military infrastructure with a multi-billion budget at the ready to purchase, among other equipment, 126 multi-role combat aircraft.

"It is the largest external-announced defence procurement budget in the world. And people are obviously interested in this," he said, adding 52 US defence corporations, including Boeing, Lockheed-Martin, Ratheon, Honeywell and General Electric, have all set up offices in India.