Rs.70 crore liquor sold on Onam days

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala saw Rs.70 crore worth of liquor sales during the two Onam days Tuesday and Wednesday this year.

An official from the excise department told IANS that sales on the first day of Onam the previous year totalled Rs.34 crore and Rs.24 crore the next day.

'The figures are still coming in. It could be certainly close to Rs.70 crore during the two days this year,' said the official.

While the entire state has a holiday on these two Onam days, the only establishments open are the sales outlets of the Kerala State Beverages Corp, the sole wholesalers of liquor in the state.

Liquor in Kerala is sold through 708 bar hotels and 383 state-owned retail outlets.

Rum remains the most preferred drink, accounting for more than 55 percent followed by brandy (close to 40 percent) and Vodka (four percent). Gin, whisky and wine account for the rest.

Sales of liquor in the last fiscal crossed a record Rs.7,000 crore and the revenue to the state government by way of taxes crossed Rs.6,000 crore.

This fiscal the sales are expected to cross Rs.8,000 crore and the state exchequer will get more than Rs.7,000 crore.

Rs.70 crore liquor sold on Onam days

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala saw Rs.70 crore worth of liquor sales during the two Onam days Tuesday and Wednesday this year.

An official from the excise department told IANS that sales on the first day of Onam the previous year totalled Rs.34 crore and Rs.24 crore the next day.

'The figures are still coming in. It could be certainly close to Rs.70 crore during the two days this year,' said the official.

While the entire state has a holiday on these two Onam days, the only establishments open are the sales outlets of the Kerala State Beverages Corp, the sole wholesalers of liquor in the state.

Liquor in Kerala is sold through 708 bar hotels and 383 state-owned retail outlets.

Rum remains the most preferred drink, accounting for more than 55 percent followed by brandy (close to 40 percent) and Vodka (four percent). Gin, whisky and wine account for the rest.

Sales of liquor in the last fiscal crossed a record Rs.7,000 crore and the revenue to the state government by way of taxes crossed Rs.6,000 crore.

This fiscal the sales are expected to cross Rs.8,000 crore and the state exchequer will get more than Rs.7,000 crore.

No sovereign immunity for Italian Marines, centre tells SC

New Delhi: The government Thursday told the Supreme Court that two Italian Marines facing trial for killing two fishermen off Kerala coast enjoyed no sovereign immunity and were liable to face prosecution under the Indian laws.

Additional Solicitor General Gourab Banerji told the apex court bench of Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice J. Chelameswar that armed forces personnel of foreign countries did not enjoy any sovereign immunity and such privileges were provided only to their diplomats.

Banerji contested the maintainability of the Italian government's writ petition by invoking Article 32 of the Indian Constitution, saying that there could not be any violation of the rights of the sovereign Italian state.

Article 32 of the constitution provides for the remedies for the enforcement of the fundamental rights conferred by the constitution.

The ASG said this during the hearing of the petition of the Italian government and its two Marines seeking the quashing of charges against them and the suspension of their trial in the killing of two fishermen Feb 15.

Chief Master Sergeant Massimilano Latorre and Sergeant Salvatore had shot dead the fishermen, allegedly suspecting them to be pirates.

The Marines have challenged the Kerala High Court order dismissing their petition claiming sovereign immunity.

The high court while rejecting the plea of sovereign immunity by Italian Marines had imposed a fine of Rs.1 lakh on each of them.

No sovereign immunity for Italian Marines, centre tells SC

New Delhi: The government Thursday told the Supreme Court that two Italian Marines facing trial for killing two fishermen off Kerala coast enjoyed no sovereign immunity and were liable to face prosecution under the Indian laws.

Additional Solicitor General Gourab Banerji told the apex court bench of Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice J. Chelameswar that armed forces personnel of foreign countries did not enjoy any sovereign immunity and such privileges were provided only to their diplomats.

Banerji contested the maintainability of the Italian government's writ petition by invoking Article 32 of the Indian Constitution, saying that there could not be any violation of the rights of the sovereign Italian state.

Article 32 of the constitution provides for the remedies for the enforcement of the fundamental rights conferred by the constitution.

The ASG said this during the hearing of the petition of the Italian government and its two Marines seeking the quashing of charges against them and the suspension of their trial in the killing of two fishermen Feb 15.

Chief Master Sergeant Massimilano Latorre and Sergeant Salvatore had shot dead the fishermen, allegedly suspecting them to be pirates.

The Marines have challenged the Kerala High Court order dismissing their petition claiming sovereign immunity.

The high court while rejecting the plea of sovereign immunity by Italian Marines had imposed a fine of Rs.1 lakh on each of them.

Bangalore Police arrest 11 with suspected links to LeT, HUJI

In a major operation, city police have arrested eleven persons with suspected links to terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba and HuJI and claimed to have foiled their plot to target MPs, MLAs and mediapersons in Karnataka.

A foreign made 7.65 mm pistol, seven rounds of ammunition and other gadgets were seized from the arrested, City Police commissioner Jyotiprakash Mirji told reporters along with DGP L R Pachau. The arrested included a journalist of an English daily, police sources said.

Mirji said all the arrests were made by CCB police yesterday in Hubli in north Karnataka and Bangalore after gathering intelligence inputs for several days. He denied reports about involvement of Uttar Pradesh police in the operation.

'It was a meticulously planned operation by CCB. The arrested had links with banned outfits like LeT and HuJI', Mirji said but refused to share further details remarking 'in the interest of the security, case and investigations no more details can be shared at this stage'.

The arrested, all aged below 30, planned to target MPs, MLAs and prominent journalists, he said. He said cases under IPC sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 307 (attempt to murder), 379 (theft) and under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Arms Act have been registered against the arrested.

Initial reports had said the four suspected Indian Mujahideen activists involved in the 2010 Chinnaswamy stadium blast case were picked up by police.

Of the 11, six were nabbed in Bangalore and five in Hubli. Mirji gave the names of the arrested as Shoheeb Ahmed Mirza (25) Abdullah (25), Ajaz Mohammad Mirza (25), Mohammad Yusuf Nalaband (28), Riyaz Ahmad Byahatti (28) Muti-ur-Rehman Siddique (26) (all from Bangalore) and Obedullah Imran Bahadur (24), Mohammad Sadiq Lashkar (28), Wahid Hussein (26), Baba (26) and Dr Jafar Iqbal Sholapur (27).

The accused were masterminded by these two banned terror outfits based in Saudi Arabia, Mirji said. The CCB had kept a close watch on the activities of the accused for the past two to three months and also uncovered their hideouts, Mirji said.

'Preliminary investigation points out an international terror network and possibility of such modules existing not only in Karnataka but also in other states', he said.

Police are also investigating whether they had any role behind the recent exodus of north-eastern people from the city in the wake bulks SMS' warning of an atttack against them.

Responding to a query, Mirji said 'the investigation conducted so far has not revealed about their earlier involvement in such activities. However, the probe is still on which might lead to more information about their activities and also about a larger network as incriminating material has also been seized'.

DGP Pachau, lauding the 'exemplary' work done by the CCB team, said busting of this conspiracy has 'averted a major catastrophe.'

Bangalore Police arrest 11 with suspected links to LeT, HUJI

In a major operation, city police have arrested eleven persons with suspected links to terror outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba and HuJI and claimed to have foiled their plot to target MPs, MLAs and mediapersons in Karnataka.

A foreign made 7.65 mm pistol, seven rounds of ammunition and other gadgets were seized from the arrested, City Police commissioner Jyotiprakash Mirji told reporters along with DGP L R Pachau. The arrested included a journalist of an English daily, police sources said.

Mirji said all the arrests were made by CCB police yesterday in Hubli in north Karnataka and Bangalore after gathering intelligence inputs for several days. He denied reports about involvement of Uttar Pradesh police in the operation.

'It was a meticulously planned operation by CCB. The arrested had links with banned outfits like LeT and HuJI', Mirji said but refused to share further details remarking 'in the interest of the security, case and investigations no more details can be shared at this stage'.

The arrested, all aged below 30, planned to target MPs, MLAs and prominent journalists, he said. He said cases under IPC sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 307 (attempt to murder), 379 (theft) and under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Arms Act have been registered against the arrested.

Initial reports had said the four suspected Indian Mujahideen activists involved in the 2010 Chinnaswamy stadium blast case were picked up by police.

Of the 11, six were nabbed in Bangalore and five in Hubli. Mirji gave the names of the arrested as Shoheeb Ahmed Mirza (25) Abdullah (25), Ajaz Mohammad Mirza (25), Mohammad Yusuf Nalaband (28), Riyaz Ahmad Byahatti (28) Muti-ur-Rehman Siddique (26) (all from Bangalore) and Obedullah Imran Bahadur (24), Mohammad Sadiq Lashkar (28), Wahid Hussein (26), Baba (26) and Dr Jafar Iqbal Sholapur (27).

The accused were masterminded by these two banned terror outfits based in Saudi Arabia, Mirji said. The CCB had kept a close watch on the activities of the accused for the past two to three months and also uncovered their hideouts, Mirji said.

'Preliminary investigation points out an international terror network and possibility of such modules existing not only in Karnataka but also in other states', he said.

Police are also investigating whether they had any role behind the recent exodus of north-eastern people from the city in the wake bulks SMS' warning of an atttack against them.

Responding to a query, Mirji said 'the investigation conducted so far has not revealed about their earlier involvement in such activities. However, the probe is still on which might lead to more information about their activities and also about a larger network as incriminating material has also been seized'.

DGP Pachau, lauding the 'exemplary' work done by the CCB team, said busting of this conspiracy has 'averted a major catastrophe.'

Former Union Minister Kashiram Rana passes away

Ahmedabad : Former Union Minister and dissident BJP leader Kashiram Rana, who recently joined Keshubhai Patel's Gujarat Parivartan Party, passed away early this morning, party sources said.

He was 76.

Rana complained of chest pain early morning when he was in the circuit house of the city.

He was rushed to Jiveraj Mehta hospital where he died.

Rana was a textile minister in the A B Vajpayee government.

However, the MP from Surat was sidelined after Narendra Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Rana had recently joined Gujarat Parivartan Party, floated by Keshubahi Patel, and was busy in election campaign.

Keshubhai Patel and GPP leader Gordhan Zadafia rushed to the hospital after hearing the news.

The body of the departed leader will be taken to Surat where his last rites are likely to be performed later in the
day. PTI

Former Union Minister Kashiram Rana passes away

Ahmedabad : Former Union Minister and dissident BJP leader Kashiram Rana, who recently joined Keshubhai Patel's Gujarat Parivartan Party, passed away early this morning, party sources said.

He was 76.

Rana complained of chest pain early morning when he was in the circuit house of the city.

He was rushed to Jiveraj Mehta hospital where he died.

Rana was a textile minister in the A B Vajpayee government.

However, the MP from Surat was sidelined after Narendra Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

Rana had recently joined Gujarat Parivartan Party, floated by Keshubahi Patel, and was busy in election campaign.

Keshubhai Patel and GPP leader Gordhan Zadafia rushed to the hospital after hearing the news.

The body of the departed leader will be taken to Surat where his last rites are likely to be performed later in the
day. PTI

Maya Kodnani gets 28 years for 2002 Gujarat massacre

Ahmedabad: Former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani was sentenced to 28 years in jail on Friday for murder and conspiracy during one of the country's worst religious riots, when up to 2,500 people, most of them Muslim, were hunted down and hacked, beaten or burnt to death in 2002. Hundreds of friends and relatives of the 32 people found guilty gathered outside a court in Ahmedabad to hear the sentences, the final step in a years-long case that cast a spotlight on still simmering communal tension in the world's biggest democracy.

Most relatives of the victims of the riots in Gujarat stayed away from the court, a sign that 10 years on, memories of the bloodletting by Hindu mobs still cast a pall of fear over the state's Muslim community. There were unconfirmed reports that some Muslim shopkeepers had shut their establishments and families had fled the city, fearing retaliatory attacks over the sentences.

Maya Kodnani, an MLA from the state's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Gujarat minister for women and child development between 2007-2009, was the highest-profile conviction to date in connection with the riots. The state prosecutor had called for all 32 convicted to face the death penalty, even though India rarely carries out the sentence. All 32 were sentenced to jail, for terms ranging from 14 years to life.

Kodnani's conviction is an embarrassment for both the BJP and Gujarat's high-flying chief minister, Narendra Modi, who is lauded by foreign companies for his business-friendly polices and is often touted as the country's next prime minister.

Maya Kodnani gets 28 years for 2002 Gujarat massacre

Ahmedabad: Former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani was sentenced to 28 years in jail on Friday for murder and conspiracy during one of the country's worst religious riots, when up to 2,500 people, most of them Muslim, were hunted down and hacked, beaten or burnt to death in 2002. Hundreds of friends and relatives of the 32 people found guilty gathered outside a court in Ahmedabad to hear the sentences, the final step in a years-long case that cast a spotlight on still simmering communal tension in the world's biggest democracy.

Most relatives of the victims of the riots in Gujarat stayed away from the court, a sign that 10 years on, memories of the bloodletting by Hindu mobs still cast a pall of fear over the state's Muslim community. There were unconfirmed reports that some Muslim shopkeepers had shut their establishments and families had fled the city, fearing retaliatory attacks over the sentences.

Maya Kodnani, an MLA from the state's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Gujarat minister for women and child development between 2007-2009, was the highest-profile conviction to date in connection with the riots. The state prosecutor had called for all 32 convicted to face the death penalty, even though India rarely carries out the sentence. All 32 were sentenced to jail, for terms ranging from 14 years to life.

Kodnani's conviction is an embarrassment for both the BJP and Gujarat's high-flying chief minister, Narendra Modi, who is lauded by foreign companies for his business-friendly polices and is often touted as the country's next prime minister.