Ethnic Indians charged with murder in Malaysia

The raging controversy over the treatment of ethnic Indians in Malaysia refuses to subside. On Tuesday, 26 members of the community were charged with attempted murder of a policemen in a banned anti-discrimination rally on November 25, where more than 10,000 people staged the biggest anti-government protest.
The 26 defendants pleaded not guilty to four charges, including an attempt to kill a policeman during a clash at a temple compound in Batu Caves, just outside capital Kuala Lumpur.
"Other charges include causing mischief, rioting and illegal assembly," their lawyer M Manoharan told news agency Reuters.
If found guilty, the accused face a jail term of 20 years or life imprisonment for attempted murder.
Ravi Niko, another lawyer for the ethnic Indians, told CNN-IBN over the phone that the defence will raise "constitutional issues" against the ruling. "They have all been chanrged under Section 307 of the Penal Code. The defence will raise doubts against the charges. However, we do not know when the trial would start," he said.

Niko also told CNN-IBN how these men were arrested. "They were arrested yesterday and were taken to a remand home. Then, they were produced in court at 4:30 pm but were released when it was time for court to shut for the day. They were again produced again and were charged with murder," he said.
''It's very shocking,'' Manoharan told The Associated Press. ''This is a clear victimisation of the Indians by bringing forth a malicious prosecution that is race-based.''
All accused are aged between 19 and 46 and were remanded pending another court appearance on Wednesday. They were released on bail but police rearrested them at their homes before dawn on Tuesday in a surprise raid, Manoharan was quoted as saying.
The 10,000-strong rally was the largest protest involving Indians on the streets of Malaysia in at least a decade.
They were protesting the affirmative action policy of the Malaysian government and were also supporting a $4-trillion lawsuit filed in London in August by Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), a rights group demanding that Britain compensate Malaysian Indians for bringing their ancestors to the country as indentured laborers and exploiting them.
They say discrimination persists in Malaysia because of the policy favouring Malays, who form about 60 per cent of Malaysia's 27 million people. They also complain of religious discrimination, citing state authorities' demolition of several Hindu temples in recent years.
More than two-thirds of ethnic Indians - the country's second-largest minority population after ethnic Chinese - who are mostly Hindus and constitute about eight percent of the population, live in poverty.
They also complain the government is becoming increasingly Islamic and is denying them their religious rights, citing the demolition of dozens of Hindu temples.

An emotional Musharraf says his goodbyes

New Delhi: It was the General's last hurrah as army chief. Pakistan President, Pervez Musharraf said his goodbyes to the men who form his most faithful constituency, after 46 years in the forces out of which nine long and eventful years at their helm.
"This army is my life, my passion. I love this army. The relationship will always be there but I will not be in uniform. I'm sad over this," he said, while bidding goodbye.
And as he handed over the baton to his vice-chief and close confidante, the New Chief of Army staff General Ashfaq Kiyani, Musharraf's sadness is tinged with a sense of loss.
Without the uniform, Musharraf's authority in his next term as President can only be less than the one he has completed and politicians have already started making it clear that stepping down isn't enough.
Former Pakistan prime minister, Benazir Bhutto said, "As mentioned, the political prisoners should be freed and there should be an independent election commission. If this giant step is going to be taken, then why not take other steps that can have other good effects?"

Reports indicate that the President may revoke the Emergency order in the next couple of days, in an effort to avoid an Opposition boycott of elections in January.
However, his battles with militancy, and civil society remain, battles that could bring the now retired general to pine.

Retired hurt: tough cop gives up on system

Kiran Bedi, the country’s first woman IPS officer, has sought voluntary retirement from service after 35 years in the force.
Magsaysay award-winner Bedi, who was recently overlooked for the post of Delhi’s Police Commissioner, has told the Government she wants to retire to pursue her “academic and social interests”.
Bedi, who retires as Director General, Bureau of Police Research and Development, has the reputation of being honest and no-nonsense officer. She earned the nickname ‘Crane Bedi’ in the 1980s when she once towed away Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s car for illegal parking.
Bedi has been civilian police adviser to the UN, Deputy Inspector General of Police in Mizoram, Director General in the Narcotics Control Bureau, head of Delhi traffic police and the chief of Delhi’s Tihar prison, where introduced reforms to improve the life of inmates.
Why is such a talented and honest officer seeking voluntary retirement? Does the Indian police have no place for an officer like her? CNN-IBN’s Senior Editor Sagarika Ghose asked this to Bedi herself and Meeran Chaddha Borwankar, the first woman Joint Commissioner of Mumbai Police and currently Special Inspector General of Police at the State Crime Record Bureau and CID in Pune. Ajay Mehra, Director of Centre for Public Affairs, joined the show to explain how the police system works in our country.

‘The system must change’
When Bedi was overlooked for the post of Delhi's police chief, she had told CNN-IBN: “the system has defeated me”. Is she retiring because of the system?
"That is true. I am today rejecting the system and moving out of it. I don't want to waste any more time with this stagnant system. I live and practise dynamism, so I am rejecting status quo. I want to move on and seek new challenges—I want to start all over again," she said.
“I am not disillusioned but fulfilled. Had I dragged on I would have felt disillusioned. If the system which brought out changes becomes status quo-ist, then it is time to move on and seek new pastures.”

Costliest Indian land deal: 3,000 cr for 3 plots

New Delhi: A record property deal has been made at Mumbai's Bandra-Kurla complex. It's the highest in the country.
The price tag for the first plot was Rs 5,04,000 a square metre or Rs 831 crore and the 16,500 square metre plot was bought by Mumbai's Wadhwa Builders.
Wadhwa Builders have paid 229 per cent higher than the reserve price.
Reliance Industries bought the second plot — a car park-cum-commercial complex — for Rs 918 crore, valued at Rs 27,917 per square foot. The bid by Reliance was the highest and winning bid.
Reliance paid Rs 3,00,500 a square metre, for the 30,550 square metre plot. They bid 96 per cent higher than the reserve price set for the particular plot.

Meanwhile, the TCG and Hiranandani joint venture have bagged the third plot, for a commercial complex at Rs 1,041 crore.
Mumbai Metropolitan Development Authority (MMRDA) has raked in Rs 2,790 crore with the sale of these three commercial plots.
Prices were expected to touch such dizzying heights, because of the lack of supply existing at the Bandra-Kurla complex on Monday. The MMRDA has positioned it as an international financial business hub and demand kept increasing so far.
Consultants said there will be no respite for the next one year. Commercial property prices are expected to touch as high as Rs 60,000 a square foot.
But the MMRDA has reacted and said that Rs 2,790 crore is precious little compared to the Rs 260,000 crore that they require in terms of funding to develop and improve the Mumbai Metropolitan region.
It is 230 per cent higher than the reserve price. The reserve price was set at Rs 163,000 a square metre, which was the highest the last time MMRDA sold plots at the BKC. Prices have more than doubled between last year’s auction and this year’s auction.
(With inputs from moneycontrol.com)

Confident Clinton Takes On Attacks

CBS) With the Iowa caucus just over a month away, CBS News anchor Katie Couric sat down for an exclusive interview with Democratic frontrunner Sen. Hillary Clinton. She’s the woman on everyone’s mind right now. But polls in Iowa are showing the race could shape up to be very close. Couric asked Clinton if she’s lowering her expectations as the primary approaches. “I never raised them, you know when I got into race at the beginning of the year. I wasn't even in double-digits. I was so far behind in Iowa it was embarrassing,” Clinton said. Her campaign instead is “encouraged” she said, because “we're making progress - but I take nothing for granted, this is going to be a tight race.” "I think everybody should just take a deep breath and say 'let's just go to the finish line,' which will be probably be midnight West Coast time on Feb. 5," she said. Couric asked Clinton: “Many of Barack Obama’s supporters were urging him to be more aggressive and to fight back a little more when it came to your candidacy. It seems as if in recent days you've returned the favor; you've taken off the gloves a bit. And some people are interpreting that as your campaign being pretty nervous...” “That's not the case at all. Campaigns have rhythm. And we're now down to end. We're going to have a mad dash to Iowa caucuses, turn around and have a mad dash to New Hampshire and then keep going,” she said. Has the Clinton campaign gotten more aggressive? “It's time. I have absorbed a lot of attacks for several months now - my opponents have basically had a free reign,” she said. "After you've been attacked as often as I have from several of my opponents, you can't just absorb it, you have to respond. "But a lot of the attacks have been quite persistent, shall we say," she said. "Hardly a day goes by when I'm not attacked." Clinton said she wants voters to know how her plans - particularly health care - stack up against those of other candidates. “I figure it’s about time now for me to draw contrasts, which I think are pretty important to voters,” she said. “And that’s what I’m going to do.” She distinguished Obama’s plan from those of her Democratic opponents. "All of us except Sen. Obama have universal health care ..." Clinton said. "I want people to know that." It was announced Monday that Oprah Winfrey would be campaigning with Obama in three key states. "How do you feel about that?" Couric asked. “I think it's great ... I'm proud to have a lot of very distinguished Americans [supporting me],” Clinton said.

Is she concerned Obama will get a major boost from Winfrey’s enthusiastic fan base? “No,” Clinton said. “At the end of the day it's among us as candidates. People will make their judgments. I’m proud to have my husband support me. It's wonderful to have someone with his knowledge and experience and incredible ability vouch for me campaign for me.” "If it's not you, how disappointed will you be?" Couric asked. “Well, it will be me,” she said. But she said she would stand behind any other Democratic nominee, if it came to that. “We're going to have unified party, behind whoever we nominate.” Clearly, she has considered the possibility she won't be the nominee? "No, I haven't," Clinton said.

Spurned by lover, Bihar girl scripts 3 murders

Patna: If you try to reason about love you will lose your reason.
And for that matter, 16-year-old Sonu's story is testimony to this old adage.
Love has allegedly made her commit no less than three murders, including that of her sweetheart.
Sonu, a resident of Jamshedpur, was in love with her neighbour Monu, but his parents opposed to their relation.
She then allegedly poisoned his father to death. Later, Monu, who had by then spurned her, was mysteriously killed in a road accident.
Witnesses had last seen him with her. Sonu then eloped with Monu's brother Bunty.
But the day after, his body was found near the hotel in Rohtas where they were staying together.
“She first killed my son then after having conspired with a doctor she started to live with my younger son,” says Monu’s mother, Kunti.
“A sadar hospital informed us that two-three men and a girl had just thrown a dead body and left. When we went there we got a call from a boy that the girl who had left the dead body was in a bus stop. We arrested her from there,” says police officer, SN Ojha.
Sonu however, has denied all these charges.
“I loved Monu but his family didn’t want us to get married because I belong to a different community. They have lost their younger son and they want me jailed,” says Sonu.
The police have filed an FIR against Sonu but till the investigations are over, we can only guess what drove her to commit the alleged murders.

Bombay HC judge's 'drunk' son mows down man

New Delhi: The son of a Bombay High Court ran his car over a man in Mumbai's D N Nagar area on Thursday night.
The police have registered an FIR against the accused who was allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol.
The victim has been admitted to the hospital with injuries.
This is not the first time that children of high profile people have been caught on the wrong side of the law.
Last year, 21-year-old Alistair Pereira, the son of a Mumbai-based industrialist had rammed his Toyota Corolla in the pavement at Bandra killing sleeping labourers.
Seven labourers had died and several others were injured. The Bombay High Court had re-opened the case after a public outcry over a sessions court judgement which let off Pereira leniently with just a six-month jail term and a fine of Rs five rupees.
Pereira has now been sentenced to three years’ Rigourous Imprisonment under Section 304, one year under Section 338 and six months for causing grevious injuries.
In January 1999, Sanjeev Nanda, the son of a Navy officer, was driving his BMW in an "inebriated" state and ran over six people in New Delhi.
It is alleged that Nanda and his friends, who were travelling in the car, fled the scene of the accident though the police found some bloodstains on the vehicle later.
More recently, actor Salman Khan was charged with running over pavement dwellers in Mumbai, allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol.