Three life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case have written to the Special Public Prosecutor for Human Rights Court in Chennai seeking an early release by describing themselves as 'political prisoners.' Special Public Prosecutor V Kannadasan said that he would forward the letter by S Jayakumar, Robert Payas (both Sri Lankans) and P Ravichandran, along with his views, to the prime minister, President and the National Human Rights Commission.
Kalburgi's wife, in her plea, said that the investigation in Dabholkar and Pansare murder cases was in a "sorry state" and no progress has been made in bringing the killers to book.
Some of the letters exchanged between the arrested activists spoke of planning 'some big action' which would attract attention, Singh said.
Asked about the security breach at their residence, he said it was a "very big lapse", but he would like to emphasise more on the safety of women in the country.
The three-member international commission that the United Nations plans to appoint to probe the assassination of former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto will be a fact-finding panel and will not carry out any criminal investigation. In a letter to the Security Council released on Thursday, Secretary-General Ban ki Moon said the life of the commission will be of six months. "You will note that the commission's mandate would be of a limited duration (a maximum of six months).
The LTTE forgot that Eelam was a means to an end -- that is a place of honour for Tamils and preservation of their identity and culture. By obdurately focussing on 'all or nothing' strategy, the LTTE lost everything and has brought upon untold misery on the Tamil people of Jaffna.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram is also believed to be keen on Raju's appointment. Official sources said the ministry has written to Jammu and Kashmir government seeking release of Raju, who is due to retire on July 31, this year.
'Thakur will not attend meetings of BJP parliamentary party during the session'
Indo-Pak Samjhauta Express, which was suspended due to security reasons in the wake of the assassination of former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto, resumed its service on Sunday. The decision was taken after consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs and railway officials of Pakistan, another official said. No decision has been taken on the resumption of services of the Thar Express.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi, along with her son Rahul Gandhi and daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, on Thursday paid tribute to her late husband and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 24th death anniversary.
No one, not even ministers and officers, should be allowed to come too close to the prime minister unless cleared by his special security, the home ministry communication said, citing an "unknown threat" to Modi.
For Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dig up the perceived past of the DMK rival, now under a new leader in M K Stalin, may not gel with the voters, both old and new. If they are still going to vote for the AIADMK-BJP combine, it will be for entirely different reasons, and despite Modi's poll speeches, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Islamic State-linked militants in Algeria have beheaded a French hostage captured over the weekend -- having earlier made threats to kill him if France did not stop bombing targets in Iraq.
"We are ready to sacrifice our life and continue with our dharna till we get a job. We have written to the PM, Home Minister Rajnath Singh," says Jagga Singh, the grand nephew of Udham Singh.
A rare speech of Mahatma Gandhi, dwelling on non-violence, communal amity and the horrors of a multiplication of atom bombs, has surfaced in America, bringing out of oblivion one of the only two recorded addresses by him in English.
Ajay Pandita, sarpanch of the Larkipora area in Anantnag district and a member of the Congress party, was shot at by terrorists in his native village at around 6 pm, a police official said. He said Pandita was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries.
Subhas Ghising has been called to New Delhi for tripartite talks.
A high-voltage drama unfolded in Lucknow yesterday as Priyanka alleged she was manhandled by cops who grabbed her by the neck and pushed her when she resisted their attempts to stop her from visiting the residence of an ex-IPS officer arrested for anti-CAA protests.
The DGP said Jatt's killing, along with one of his associates, was a big success for the security forces.
Bhutto's true Achilles heel was the military. A third time premiership would not have altered the equation. The military is so deeply entrenched in the country's economic and political life that no democratic entity in the country can survive a challenge from it. On both occasions in the past Benazir had been evicted from the prime minister's office by the machinations of the military.
Sajjad is the younger son of Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone who was assassinated on May 21, 2002, by militants
As Justice (retd) A K Ganguly faced calls to quit as chief of the West Bengal Human Rights Commission, faculty members of the premier National University of Juridical Sciences on Wednesday demanded his removal as honorary professor.
This was the second such plot foiled by security agencies in a month. Earlier, terrorists had planned to target Azad at Ramban in Jammu region but the three possible attackers were nabbed before they could act.
Taking a jibe at Gandhi over her remarks on Wednesday that she does not fear anybody, Shah said she is "right" and that is why such "scams" keep coming out in the open.
'You cannot win an election without putting together a massive war chest.' 'It is impossible to put a war chest together, without giving and taking favours from India Inc, with a large dose of extortion thrown in,' says Devangshu Datta.
"There should be a complete shutdown on April 2 to protest the proposed visit of Modi. All rhetoric about development or construction of tunnels and roads are futile and will not succeed in luring us," chairmen of the rival factions of the Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik said in a joint statement.
'What the long term repercussions of the Ayodhya judgment are will unfold in time.' 'And I hope the consequences are not going to be as damaging to us as they were to Pakistan,' says Aakar Patel.
Shashi Tharoor, who was sacked as Congress party spokesman in the wake of his effusive praise of the prime minister's Swachh Bharat program, on Thursday attacked the Narendra Modi government for "ignoring the martyrdom" of Indira Gandhi, whose death anniversary falls on Friday.
Hariri was assassinated on February 14, in which 22 other people were also killed when his car was blown up.
The National Investigation Agency is busy taking apart each and every possible lead connected to the Patna serial blasts after the suspects held in connection with the terror strike revealed some shocking details to sleuths of the probe agency.
Sharif met US Secretary of State John Kerry in New York during which he raised the Kashmir issue.
Ambassador Venu Rajamony, who served as press secretary to President Pranab Mukherjee during his tenure, salutes the statesman and political legend, who passed into the ages on Monday.
'Politics is not a post for retired people to enjoy.'
It is bound to fail like the earlier ones, again causing Pakistan enormously more damage than to India, points out Shekhar Gupta.
'There is a compulsion to look hard, decisive, and risk-taking; start something; and then conclude it in a way you can claim victory.' 'That is not such an easy option against China,' notes Shekhar Gupta.
Air Commodore Nitin Sathe discovers how the IAF trained Pakistani air force pilots, during the 1971 War, which led to the birth of the Bangladesh air force.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday refused to point fingers as to who could be behind "rumours" of his son being ticked off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an alleged "misconduct", which have been denied by the Prime Minister's Office.
Accusing Rahul Gandhi and the Congress of flouting the Model Code of Conduct, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday complained to the Election Commission over his remarks linking the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to Mahatma Gandhi's killing and sought action against the Congress vice president and derecognition of the party.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Gujarat governor Sunder Singh Bhandari on Friday demanded a thorough inquiry into the 'failure' of the Modi government in dealing with the Gujarat riots. RJD demands dismissal of Modi govt.