Mumbai police files charge sheet in photo journo’s gangrape

Mumbai: Mumbai police Thursday filed a charge sheet against four accused in last month's gangrape of a 23-year-old photo journalist. A charge sheet was filed separately against the juvenile accomplice of the accused before a juvenile court. The accused have been charge-sheeted under various sections of IPC including 376(d) (gangrape), 377 (unnatural offence), 201 (destruction of evidence) and 120(b) (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) among others.

The 600-page charge sheet filed in a magistrate's court has details of the victim's ordeal, statements of 86 witnesses, forensic evidence collected from the spot, DNA analysis reports, besides phone call records. 
The photo journalist was allegedly raped by the five accused when she had gone to the deserted Shakti Mills compound on August 22 with a male colleague on assignment. The accused-- Salim Ansari, Vijay Jadhav, Mohammed Kasim Hafiz Shaikh alias Kasim Bengali, Siraj Rehman Khan and the minor--had tied up the victim's male companion with belts and allegedly raped her. Police had claimed it had a "water-tight" case against all the five accused.

Mumbai police files charge sheet in photo journo’s gangrape

Mumbai: Mumbai police Thursday filed a charge sheet against four accused in last month's gangrape of a 23-year-old photo journalist. A charge sheet was filed separately against the juvenile accomplice of the accused before a juvenile court. The accused have been charge-sheeted under various sections of IPC including 376(d) (gangrape), 377 (unnatural offence), 201 (destruction of evidence) and 120(b) (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) among others.

The 600-page charge sheet filed in a magistrate's court has details of the victim's ordeal, statements of 86 witnesses, forensic evidence collected from the spot, DNA analysis reports, besides phone call records. 
The photo journalist was allegedly raped by the five accused when she had gone to the deserted Shakti Mills compound on August 22 with a male colleague on assignment. The accused-- Salim Ansari, Vijay Jadhav, Mohammed Kasim Hafiz Shaikh alias Kasim Bengali, Siraj Rehman Khan and the minor--had tied up the victim's male companion with belts and allegedly raped her. Police had claimed it had a "water-tight" case against all the five accused.

Woman gang-raped at bus stand in AP

HYDERABAD: A 35-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped by four persons, including a police constable and a home guard, at Kothkota bus stand in Mahabubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh in the wee hours on Thursday, police said. Four persons, including a police constable and a home guard, have been arrested in this connection, they said. The incident occurred at the bus stand at around 1 am when the woman was apparently waiting for a bus, Mahabubnagar SP D Nagendra Kumar said over phone.

He said the constable Seenu and home guard Nagendran were apprehended along with two private employees identified as Ramesh and Rakesh based on information. The victim was sent to a local hospital for medical examination and the four accused were booked under relevant provisions of recently-enacted Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill-2013 and section 376 (B) of Indian Penal Code, the SP said.

Woman gang-raped at bus stand in AP

HYDERABAD: A 35-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped by four persons, including a police constable and a home guard, at Kothkota bus stand in Mahabubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh in the wee hours on Thursday, police said. Four persons, including a police constable and a home guard, have been arrested in this connection, they said. The incident occurred at the bus stand at around 1 am when the woman was apparently waiting for a bus, Mahabubnagar SP D Nagendra Kumar said over phone.

He said the constable Seenu and home guard Nagendran were apprehended along with two private employees identified as Ramesh and Rakesh based on information. The victim was sent to a local hospital for medical examination and the four accused were booked under relevant provisions of recently-enacted Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill-2013 and section 376 (B) of Indian Penal Code, the SP said.

Two women held for gold smuggling

KOCHI: Two women passengers returning from Dubai were detained at Kochi airport Thursday after they were found to be carrying 20 kg of gold, an official said. Preliminary investigations suggest their involvement in a gold-smuggling racket, the official said. They were each carrying 10 kg gold hidden inside their garments, the official added. Close to 28 kg of gold has been seized by Kochi air customs in the last one week.

Two women held for gold smuggling

KOCHI: Two women passengers returning from Dubai were detained at Kochi airport Thursday after they were found to be carrying 20 kg of gold, an official said. Preliminary investigations suggest their involvement in a gold-smuggling racket, the official said. They were each carrying 10 kg gold hidden inside their garments, the official added. Close to 28 kg of gold has been seized by Kochi air customs in the last one week.

One year to destroy Syrian chemical weapons: Assad

WASHINGTON: Destroying Syria’s chemical weapons will take one year and cost about 1 billion dollars, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview broadcast on U.S. television on Thursday.

It will be a very complicated operation, Assad told Fox News, adding that his country would completely comply with the international convention on chemical weapons. He also said he would agree to let the weapons be hauled to the United States for destruction if the U.S. were prepared to pay the cost.

Washington and Moscow at the weekend reached an agreement on Syria’s chemical weapons, giving al-Assad’s regime a week to provide full details about its stockpiles and until mid-2014 to dismantle this arsenal. In the interview  Assad again denied responsibility for last month’s chemical weapons attack that killed more than 1,000 people.

The attack was a violation of international law, he said. “That’s self-evident. This is despicable. It’s a crime.” The interview followed a United Nations statement on Wednesday saying its findings on the use of chemical weapons in Syria were “indisputable.” The findings “speak for themselves and this was a thoroughly objective report on that specific incident,” said U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky. U.N. inspectors were due to head back to Syria “within one or two weeks” to continue investigations into the earlier alleged chemical weapons attacks, head of the U.N. team Ake Sellstrom said. A senior Russian official said on Wednesday that Syria had handed over new evidence showing that rebels had used chemical weapons in a deadly attack near Damascus last month. 

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said details provided by the Syrian government would bolster claims supported by Moscow that Assad was not responsible for the August 21 attack, which the United States says killed more than 1,400 people. “We believe that this will strengthen evidence that the rebels were involved in using chemical weapons,” he said in comments carried by Russia’s Itar Tass state news agency.

Ryabkov, whose country is a major ally of Syria, also accused the United Nations of producing a biased report on the attack. “To put it mildly, we are disappointed by the approach of the UN Secretariat and the UN inspectors, who compiled their report selectively and incompletely,” Ryabkov told the RIA Novosti news agency. He argued that the U.N. report was “politicized and one-sided” as long as it was based solely on the August 21 attack and did not include findings about three other alleged chemical attacks.

Ryabkov met Assad in Damascus where the latter praised Moscow’s position on the Syrian crisis, according to the state news agency SANA

One year to destroy Syrian chemical weapons: Assad

WASHINGTON: Destroying Syria’s chemical weapons will take one year and cost about 1 billion dollars, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in an interview broadcast on U.S. television on Thursday.

It will be a very complicated operation, Assad told Fox News, adding that his country would completely comply with the international convention on chemical weapons. He also said he would agree to let the weapons be hauled to the United States for destruction if the U.S. were prepared to pay the cost.

Washington and Moscow at the weekend reached an agreement on Syria’s chemical weapons, giving al-Assad’s regime a week to provide full details about its stockpiles and until mid-2014 to dismantle this arsenal. In the interview  Assad again denied responsibility for last month’s chemical weapons attack that killed more than 1,000 people.

The attack was a violation of international law, he said. “That’s self-evident. This is despicable. It’s a crime.” The interview followed a United Nations statement on Wednesday saying its findings on the use of chemical weapons in Syria were “indisputable.” The findings “speak for themselves and this was a thoroughly objective report on that specific incident,” said U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky. U.N. inspectors were due to head back to Syria “within one or two weeks” to continue investigations into the earlier alleged chemical weapons attacks, head of the U.N. team Ake Sellstrom said. A senior Russian official said on Wednesday that Syria had handed over new evidence showing that rebels had used chemical weapons in a deadly attack near Damascus last month. 

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said details provided by the Syrian government would bolster claims supported by Moscow that Assad was not responsible for the August 21 attack, which the United States says killed more than 1,400 people. “We believe that this will strengthen evidence that the rebels were involved in using chemical weapons,” he said in comments carried by Russia’s Itar Tass state news agency.

Ryabkov, whose country is a major ally of Syria, also accused the United Nations of producing a biased report on the attack. “To put it mildly, we are disappointed by the approach of the UN Secretariat and the UN inspectors, who compiled their report selectively and incompletely,” Ryabkov told the RIA Novosti news agency. He argued that the U.N. report was “politicized and one-sided” as long as it was based solely on the August 21 attack and did not include findings about three other alleged chemical attacks.

Ryabkov met Assad in Damascus where the latter praised Moscow’s position on the Syrian crisis, according to the state news agency SANA

India must reform to woo American business’

Washington: American businesses will not make major moves into India's market despite its growing middle class unless India reforms three key policy areas to improve trade relations with the US, according to a former US trade official. Charlene Barshefsky, who was President Bill Clinton's second-term trade representative, outlined what the two countries need to do to strengthen their economic ties at a US think tank discussion ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meeting with President Barack Obama on Sep 27.

According to Politico, an influential political news site, three areas of reform she identified were an economic slowdown that has diminished the value of India's currency; a set of "vexing regulations and a very challenging rules system" that businesses struggle to navigate; and market access barriers that include tariffs, "buy local" requirements and lax intellectual property protections. Additionally, the US must back off immigration reform proposals that could make it more difficult for Indian tech companies to send their workers here, she said.

"This is a relationship that should be much stronger than it is. It's a relationship that should be healthier than it is. It's a relationship that should be contributing more to both economies than it is," Barshefsky was quoted as saying at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. "Both sides ought to do two things: Reaffirm the commonalities between the two countries, and put the economic relationship on a far more positive and accelerated trajectory," said Barshefsky, who helped negotiate China's entrance to the World Trade Organization.

Barshefsky, according to Politico, said the Indian government blocks foreign investment in audio-visual services, banking and financial services, insurance, telecommunications and more by capping foreign equity in companies in those industries. The Indian government's decision to decline or revoke drug patents for cancer, glaucoma and other pharmaceuticals from companies including Pfizer and Roche - decisions aimed at providing its citizens with cheaper drugs - "call into question India's commitment to intellectual property rights," she said.

Another problematic barrier exists in India's multibrand retail sector, said Diane Farrell, the executive vice president of the US-India Business Council. "Multibrand retail is emblematic of some of the deep frustrations and concerns of those who have great enthusiasm and high expectations of the strength of the relationship," she was quoted as saying by Politico. Addressing the string of barriers between the two countries, Farrell said, will take time. "It's a marathon, folks," she said. "Wear comfortable shoes."

India must reform to woo American business’

Washington: American businesses will not make major moves into India's market despite its growing middle class unless India reforms three key policy areas to improve trade relations with the US, according to a former US trade official. Charlene Barshefsky, who was President Bill Clinton's second-term trade representative, outlined what the two countries need to do to strengthen their economic ties at a US think tank discussion ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meeting with President Barack Obama on Sep 27.

According to Politico, an influential political news site, three areas of reform she identified were an economic slowdown that has diminished the value of India's currency; a set of "vexing regulations and a very challenging rules system" that businesses struggle to navigate; and market access barriers that include tariffs, "buy local" requirements and lax intellectual property protections. Additionally, the US must back off immigration reform proposals that could make it more difficult for Indian tech companies to send their workers here, she said.

"This is a relationship that should be much stronger than it is. It's a relationship that should be healthier than it is. It's a relationship that should be contributing more to both economies than it is," Barshefsky was quoted as saying at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. "Both sides ought to do two things: Reaffirm the commonalities between the two countries, and put the economic relationship on a far more positive and accelerated trajectory," said Barshefsky, who helped negotiate China's entrance to the World Trade Organization.

Barshefsky, according to Politico, said the Indian government blocks foreign investment in audio-visual services, banking and financial services, insurance, telecommunications and more by capping foreign equity in companies in those industries. The Indian government's decision to decline or revoke drug patents for cancer, glaucoma and other pharmaceuticals from companies including Pfizer and Roche - decisions aimed at providing its citizens with cheaper drugs - "call into question India's commitment to intellectual property rights," she said.

Another problematic barrier exists in India's multibrand retail sector, said Diane Farrell, the executive vice president of the US-India Business Council. "Multibrand retail is emblematic of some of the deep frustrations and concerns of those who have great enthusiasm and high expectations of the strength of the relationship," she was quoted as saying by Politico. Addressing the string of barriers between the two countries, Farrell said, will take time. "It's a marathon, folks," she said. "Wear comfortable shoes."