Detained Patna blasts suspect Mahre Alam escapes from NIA custody

One of the suspects being questioned in the Patna blasts case has escaped from National Investigation Agency (NIA) custody, according to TV reports. The reports identified the suspect who hoodwinked the investigators as Mahre Alam.

Earlier, investigators said questioning of three suspects arrested in Patna and four more detained in New Delhi, Kolkata, Patna and Ranchi in connection with Patna serial bomb blasts had provided leads that established a connection between the blasts and Pakistan-based leader of Indian Mujahideen (IM) Riyaz Bhaktal.

Security agencies have now intensified the search for Bhatkal’s key aides in India, Mohammad Tehseen Akhtar alias Monu and Haider Ali, both wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in several terror strikes, including the ones at Bodh Gaya in Bihar and Hyderabad.

“The duo is constantly in touch with IM modules through Yahoo chats. The ISI is supposed to have funded Riyaz Bhatkal and the money reached Monu and Haider through hawala route,” said an official on the condition of anonymity.

The recovery of a few analog watches from the home of one of the arrested suspects, Imtiaz Ansari, and the use of ammonium nitrate in blasts, indicates the group behind Patna blasts might also have carried out Bodh Gaya blasts.

“One of the arrested suspects has admitted to as much, but a lot more is tumbling out,” said investigators.

Ansari, a suspected IM operative who was arrested from the premises of Patna Junction soon after the blasts, and Arshad Alam who was held at Alauli village in East Champaran district have provided vital clues, the official said.

Ainul Ansari, who was seriously wounded after the first blast has gone into coma at Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences. On the basis of Imtiaz’s statement, NIA also picked up Uzair Ahmad from Ranchi on Wednesday and his kin Mohammad Aftab from Delhi in connection with blasts. Two more suspects, Monam from Patna and Mohammad Ali from Kolkata have also been detained, with officials planning to detain more for questioning.

“It is getting increasingly clear that the IM has now developed a Ranchi module and roped in educated tech-savvy youths to carry out operations. Intelligence inputs points to a nation-wide link, with operatives of the terrorist outfit stationed in different states, but right now Ranchi is the hub they operated from,” the official said.

“Imtiaz and Neyaz also admitted they had been initiated into terrorism by Muhammad Manzar Imam, who was nabbed by NIA in Kerala and later shifted to Delhi in a case involving another IM operative Muhammad Danish Ansari,” he added.

Manzar, an aide of IM co-founder Yaseen Bhatkal, who also was arrested from Nepal, was the man behind setting up Ranchi module in association with Tehseen Akhtar and Haider.

“During interrogation, the arrested IM operatives talked about Manzar and admitted to how Tehseen gave them a map and plan for carrying out Patna blasts,” the investigator said.

Source: HT

Darbhanga district at a glance

Presently Darbhanga district is having the total geographical area of 2279 sq. km. and population of 3295789 according to 2001 census. It is situated between longitude 85 degree 45’- 86 degree 25’ East and latitude 25 degree 53’ - 26 degree 27’ North and is bounded on the north by Madhubani district, on the south by Samastipur district, on the east by Saharsa district and on the west by Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur districts.

The District of Darbhanga can be divided into four natural divisions. The eastern portion consisting of Ghanshyampur, Biraul and Kusheshwarsthan blocks contain fresh silt deposited by the Kosi River. This region was under the influence of Kosi floods till the construction of Kosi embankment in the Second Five Year Plan. It contains large tracts of sandy land covered with wild marsh.

The second division comprised of the anchals lying south of the Boorhi Gandak river and is the most fertile area in the district. It is also on higher level than the other part of the district and contains very few marshes. It is well suited to the rabbi crops.

The third natural region is the doab between the Burhi Gandak and Baghmati and consists of the low-lying areas dotted over by chaur and marshes. It gets floods every year.

The fourth division covers the Sadar sub-division of the district. This tract is watered by numerous streams and contains some up-lands.

The district has a vast alluvial plain devoid of any hills. There is a gentle slope from north to south with a depression on the centre. Numerous rivers originating in the Himalays water this district. Out of these rivers Kamla, Baghmati, Kosi and Kareh are of most importance.

The District has somewhat dry and healthy climate. There are three well-marked seasons, the winter, the summer & the Rainy season. The cold weather begins in November and continues up to February, though March is also somewhat cool. Westerly winds begin to blow in the second half of March and temperature rises considerably. May is the hottest month when the temperature goes up to 107 degree Fahrenheit. Rain sets in towards the middle of June. With the advent of the Rainy seasons, temperature falls and humidity rises. The moist heat of the Rainy season is very oppressive up to August .The rain continues till the middle of October. Average rainfall is 1142.3 mm. around 92% of rainfall is received during monsoon months.

Flora and Fauna

The land in Darbhanga District is generally very fertile and there are hardly and uncultivated areas. The district is, therefore, devoid of any forests. Among the trees found in the district are Sisam, Khair, Palmyra and Khajur. Mango, jackfruit, pipal and tamarind are found near village settlements. The district also has some tracts of grasslands.

Wild animals existed in the district up to the end of the 18th century. But with the progressive use of land and rapid growth of population, the forest areas were cleared and the wild animals became almost extinct. Wolves and hyenas are rare, while jackals are common. Fox and wild cats are also met with occasionally.

Among the birds found in the district are various kinds of quails, partridges and ducks, snipes, cranes, storks and sparrows are commonly seen. Fish are plentiful. The common varieties are Rohu, Bachwa, Tangra, Katla, Singhi and Boari. Hilsa is found only occasionally.

Languages and Religion

Main languages spoken in this district are: Maithili, Hindi and Urdu. Religion-wise breakup of population is indicated below as per 1991 census: Hindus : 19,55,068, Muslims : 5,55,429, Christians : 141, Sikhs : 198, Buddhists : 26, Jains : 27, Other religions and persuasions : 70.

Fair and Festivals

Important fairs and melas organised in various parts of the district are namely: Kartik Purnima mela, Dussehra mela, Janmastami mela and Divali mela.

Statistical Figures

Darbhanga - Bihar - India
SL Head Unit Darbhanga Bihar India
1. Population Growth (Per Annum) % 2.25 2.13 2.14
2. Population Density (Person/Sq.Kms) Nos. 1,101 496 273
3. Urbanization % 8.70 13.14 25.73
4. Literacy % 29.00 38.48 52.21
5. Male Literacy % 48.00 52.49 64.13
6. Female Literacy % 16.00 22.89 39.29
7. Urban Literacy % 66.42 67.89 73.08
8. Rural Literacy % 31.80 33.83 44.69
9. Workers as % of total Population % 29.49 32.16 37.46
10. Agriculture % Allied Activities % 84.10 81.10 66.92
11. Mining and Quarrying % 0.04 1.26 0.61
12. Mfg. (Non-household) industries % 1.89 2.26 7.65
13. House-hold industries % 1.43 1.74 2.38
14. Construction % 0.49 0.63 1.94
15. Services % 12.05 13.00 20.50
16. Forest area as % reporting area % 0 16.87 21.82
17. Net sown area as % of reporting area % 59.72 44.43 46.30
18. Grows irrigation area % of grs. cropped area % 18.49 36.31 30.72
19. Average size of Operational Holding Hec. 0.54 0.87 1.69
20. Fertilizer consumption per hectare Kgs. 68.00 58.00 72.00
21. Value of output of major crops per hectare Rs. 2,333 3017 3576
22. Value of output of major per capita Rs. 192 368 758
23. Per Capita Foodgrain Production Kgs. 65.00 118.00 173.00
24. Road Length per 100 sq. km. Kms. 50.84 48.77 60.14
25. Railway Route Length per 100 sq. km. Kms. 3.59 3.06 2.06
26. Post Office per Lakh Population Nos. 14.09 13.20 17.93
27. Telegraph Offices per Lakh Population Nos. 0 2 4.3
28. Telephones per Lakh Population Nos. 493 167 800
29. Total Fertility Rate 5.10 5.50 4.80
30. Infant Mortality rate per thousand live birth 115 118 110
31. Live Expectancy at birth 47.60 46.50 53.85
32. Relative Index of Development Index 29 43 100

Administrative Setup

Darbhanga is the Divisional Headquarter. The division comprises the three district, namely Darbhanga, Madhubani and Samastipur.
Panchayats - Zila Parishads
SL District Blocks Panchayats Gram-Panchayat
Members Panchayat
Samiti Members Zila-Parishad
Members
1. Darbhanga 18 329 4,570 461 47
2. Madhubani 20 399 5,523 552 56
3. Samastipur 20 381 5,211 523 51
Total 58 1,109 15,304 1,536 154

The district comprises of three civil Sub-divisions, 18 Blocks, 329 Panchayats, 1269 villages & 23 Police Stations. There is a municipal corporation having 37 wards in the urban area.

Block-wise Village, Panchayat, Ward, Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishads
SL Block Name No. of
Villages No. of
Panchayats No. of
Wards No. of
Panchayat Samiti No. of Zila
Parishad
1. Baheri 80 27 364 36 4
2. Hayaghat 48 14 195 20 2
3. Hanuman Nagar 85 14 198 19 2
4. Darbhanga 137 23 338 34 3
5. Bahadurpur 171 23 321 32 3
6. Singhwara 100 25 359 36 4
7. Jale 60 26 362 36 4
8. Keoti 110 26 355 36 4
9. Tardih 45 13 162 14 2
10. Manigachhi 47 22 302 31 3
11. Alinagar 44 11 176 19 2
12. Benipur 65 22 330 33 3
13. Ghanshyampur 30 12 169 17 2
14. Kiratpur 17 8 95 10 1
15. Kuseshwarasthan 73 14 193 20 2
16. Kuseshwarasthan (E) 36 10 134 13 1
17. Biraul 70 26 343 36 3
18. Gaura Bauram 51 13 174 17 2
Total 1,269 329 4,570 459 47

Banks in Darbhanga

There are 150 banks branches in the district which include 62 commercial bank branches, 79 RRBs, 3 LDBs and 6 Co-operative banks. Besides these there are 180 PACs in the district. Central Bank of India is the lead bank of the district.

Statement of Banks in Darbhanga District
SL Name of Bank No. of Branches No. of Branches in Service Areas No. of Villages under Service Area No. of Villages of Targeted or Non-Trageted Groups of RRBs
1. Central Bank of India 14 9 100 143
2. State Bank of India 18 12 120 368
3. Allahabad Bank 2 1 8 17
4. Bank of Baroda 2 2 18 20
5. United Commercial Bank 3 2 12 -
6. United Bank of India 5 4 40 97
7. Punjab National Bank 5 3 28 65
8. Canara Bank 1 - - -
9. Indian Bank 3 3 17 44
10. Bank of India 4 3 5 47
11. Syndicate Bank 1 - - -
12. Vijaya Bank 1 - - -
13. Union Bank of India 1 1 15 24
14. Dena Bank 1 - - -
15. Indian Overseas Bank 1 - - -
16. Mithila Kshetriya Gramin Bank (RRB) 79 77 825 -
17. Central Co-operative Bank 6 Entire District - -
18. Land Development Bank 3 do - -
19. ICICI Bank 1 do - -
20. HDFC Bank 1 do - -
21. AXIS Bank 1 do - -
TOTAL 153 117 1,188 825

Source: NIC

Failure to back anti-terror operations haunts Nitish Kumar now

Bihar government's apparent reluctance to associate with anti-terror operations in the run-up to 2014 elections has come back to haunt it in the form of Gandhi Maidan blasts where it was caught napping. Even as the incident exposed security lapses at the rally venue, sources pointed to the Bihar government's overall attitude to security which has been found to be wanting.

Allegedly wary of stirring the terror pot ahead of 2014 elections, CM Nitish Kumar's government had in August refused to take custody of IM operative Ahmed Siddibappa alias Yasin Bhatkal even though Bihar Police played a significant role in his arrest from Nepal. Yasin was tracked by Intelligence Bureau to Pokhara and then arrested by a joint team of IB and Bihar Police.

However, after he was brought to Raxaul in Bihar, the state police refused to take his custody saying it had no cases against him. Ultimately, the central security set-up had to make a last minute call to National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over the case.

Bihar's refusal to take Yasin's custody was intriguing as one of the most ferocious modules of Indian Mujahideen was raised by him in Darbhanga and Madhubani and several members of this module are still absconding. IM is also a suspect in the Bodh Gaya blasts.

Sources said apart from Bihar appearing to be dragging its feet on the security front, there were some deeply entrenched systemic problems with Bihar's security set-up. During the previous regime in the state, law and order suffered to such an extent that it had a debilitating impact on the police force which despite some good successes in Kumar's regime, will take time to be a fully functional and competent entity, sources said.

They added the fact that Bihar hadn't experienced a bomb blast in several years (except for the recent Bodh Gaya blasts) also added to the lack of preparedness and experience of the police force to deal with terror attacks.

Source: TOI

Patna blasts mastermind Tehseen Akhtar is nephew of JD(U) leader: Report

Indian Mujahideen operative Tehseen Akhtar, who is allegedly the mastermind of Sunday's Patna serial blasts that left six dead and over 50 injured, is the nephew of a Janata Dal (United) leader from Bihar, reports claimed on Tuesday.

Taki Akhtar is the JD(U) leader in Samastipur district, Bihar.

According to a report published in a daily, Taki has always denied any ties with Tehseen. The Akhtars are residents of Maniarpur village of Samastipur, about 100 km from Patna.

Seven blasts took place on Sunday, six of which occured in and around the Gandhi Maidan where Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi later addressed a rally. Tahseen Akhtar is considered to be close to Yasin Bhatkal, the man who co-founded Indian Mujahideen. In the last few months, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on more than 10 occasions raided his native village but failed to find him.

Earlier, the NIA issued an arrest warrant against Tahseen Akhtar, and also announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for information that could lead to his arrest.

Source: DNA

Live bomb recovered from Gandhi Maidan, defused

A team of National Investigation Agency and National Security Guard recovered a live bomb at Gandhi Maidan during a post-blast ground-check on Tuesday.

The team found the wired bomb at around 12 and defused it through explosion at 1.05pm.

On Sunday, at least six people were killed and over 90 injured during a serial blasts during the BJP's Hunkar rally ahead of Narendra Modi's address at the site.

City SP Jayantkant said, "More bombs could not be ruled out. All gates to the 62-acer ground have been closed and the people have been denied entry."

The CPI-ML rally is scheduled to be held at the ground on October 30. The SP said, "We are screening the entire place and hope to make it ready by that time."

Meanwhile, Union home secretary Anil Goswami accompanied with Bihar DGP Abhayanand visited the site where Sunday blasts took place.

Nitish attacks Modi, says 'a man who aspires to be PM should be patient'

Excerpts from Nitish's speech at Rajgir convention:

• I noticed Modi was wiping his face. Why was he sweating? A man who aspires to India's highest post should be patient.

• BJP has amazing grasp of history. They should know Chandragupta was of Maurya dynasty, not of Gupta dynasty.

• Security agencies and Bihar administration are answerable for security at BJP's Patna rally.

• My ex-friends once praised me and now they are finding faults with me.

• My ex-friends of BJP accuse me of failing in security for BJP Patna rally. All security was made.

• I condemn the terrorist incidents in Patna 2 days ago.

• Special status for Bihar will be JD-U's main issue in 2014 polls.

• Bihar isn't begging for special status. It's our right.

• We are fighting for Bihar but some people are creating hurdles for us.

• Nobody can beat our rally in Patna last year, that was for Biharis and not for an individual.

• BJP is responsible for the alliance between the two parties breaking.

• JD-U will connect with voters, demand the legitimate rights of Bihar.

• JD-U will organise 12 sankalp rallies to contact with voters.

• Janata-Dal United's signature campaign forced Centre to set up panel to consider special status for Bihar.

• Bihar demanded Rs. 20,000 cr from centre and got Rs. 12,000 cr. Our fight goes on.

• Janata Dal United convention in Rajgir was successful. We have gained strength.

• Nitish Kumar addresses Janata Dal-United meeting in Rajgir after senior party leader Shivanand Tiwari praised Narendra Modi.

Narendra Modi cannot hope to lead India by inspiring fear: NYT

A leading US daily is of the view that Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi cannot hope to lead India effectively if he "inspires fear and antipathy among" many, particularly Muslims.

Editorially commenting on Gujarat Chief Minister "Narendra Modi's Rise in India," influential New York Times said "His rise to power is deeply troubling to many Indians, especially the country's 138 million Muslims and its many other minorities."

"They worry he would exacerbate sectarian tensions that have subsided somewhat in the last decade," it said noting that in 2002, rioters "savagely killed nearly 1,000 people, most of whom were part of the Muslim minority" in Gujarat.

"India is a country with multiple religions, more than a dozen major languages and numerous ethnic groups and tribes," the Times said. "Mr. Modi cannot hope to lead it effectively if he inspires fear and antipathy among many of its people."

Modi has been denied a US visa since 2005 for his alleged role or inaction during the 2002 riots.

Supporters of Modi, the Times noted "argue that an investigation commissioned by India's Supreme Court cleared him of wrongdoing in the riots."

"And they insist that Mr. Modi, who is widely admired by middle-class Indians for making Gujarat one of India's fastest-growing states, can revive the economy."

But "Modi's strident Hindu nationalism has fuelled public outrage," the daily said recalling his "incendiary response" to a question from a British news agency whether he regretted the killings in 2002.

"Modi has shown no ability to work with opposition parties or tolerate dissent," the Times said.

"His economic record in Gujarat is not entirely admirable, either," it said noting, "Muslims in Gujarat, for instance, are much more likely to be poor than Muslims in India as a whole, even though the state has a lower poverty rate than the country."

Source: ANI

Police detain 4 suspects in Patna blasts, probe Ranchi link

The police have detained four persons in connection with the blasts in Patna that killed at least five persons and left more than 90 injured on Sunday. They were also investigating a possible Ranchi connection to the explosions.


A person is wheeled into the Patna Medical College and Hospital after he was injured in one of blasts before Narendra Modi's rally on Sunday. (PTI Photo)

"We have some information about a Ranchi connection to the incident," said SN Pradhan, Jharkhand additional director general of police (ADGP) and police spokesperson.

The police conducted raids in several areas of Ranchi on Sunday on the basis of information provided by those detained in Patna.

Six bombs - improvised explosive devices (IED) with timers - went off in and around Gandhi Maidan between 11.40am and 12.45pm on Sunday just ahead of BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's rally. Earlier in the day, around 9.30am, a bomb had exploded in a toilet at Patna Junction railway station.

There was confusion on Monday over reports that one of the injured, and also a suspect, had succumbed to injuries. Police later confirmed that he was still alive.

Officials in Patna refused to comment on the investigation saying it had been taken over by the National Investigative Agency.

Within hours of the blasts, the union home ministry in New Delhi had on Sunday rushed a team of NIA officers and bomb experts from the National Security Guards to the state. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had asked chief minister Nitish Kumar to take "immediate and firm action" to identify and act against those responsible.

The first crude bomb exploded in a public toilet building near platform 10 at Patna Junction, said Patna SSP Manu Maharaj. A man was injured and hospitalised. A bomb squad member was also seriously wounded while trying to defuse two more bombs found there, he said.

Two hours later, bombs went off in and around Gandhi Maidan - near a movie theatre, a hotel, a children's park and a bank - sending plumes of smoke in the air and people scurrying around in panic.

Police managed to prevent a stampede and the organisers of the rally also helped maintain calm by announcing that the blasts were tyre bursts or crackers going off.

"We detected four more bombs. Defusing them turned out to be a problem as they are all fitted with timers," said a bomb squad member.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar insisted there was "neither intelligence failure nor a security lapse".

After his rally, Modi tweeted, "Blasts in Patna are deeply saddening and unfortunate. Condolences with families of deceased and prayers with injured. I appeal for peace and calm."

The BJP called the blasts a design to create panic and scuttle the rally.

“We want a probe into the blasts. This is really unfortunate,” said BJP’s national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain.


Smoke rises after a bomb exploded near a public ground where Gujarat's chief minister Narendra Modi was to address a rally in Patna on Sunday. (Reuters Photo)

Source: HT

Serial bomb blasts rock Patna; 5 dead, 24 injured

At least five people were killed and 24 injured when a series of blasts rocked Patna ahead of BJP's Hunkar rally on Sunday.

Bihar DGP GP Abhyanand has confirmed 8 explosions. Most of the blasts occurred in and around the Gandhi Maidan.

People were seen rushing the injured to the hospital as the explosions sparked panic.

Six persons were injured in a blast before the Eliphistine cinema hall on the western side of the rally venue, police sources said.

Hours before that, a bomb exploded in a newly constructed toilet at the Patna railway station, two kilometers from the BJP's 'Hunkar rally' venue, injuring one person.

Immediately after the explosion, bomb disposal swept the area and discovered two more crude bombs, railway superintendent of police Upendra Kumar Sinha said.

One security personnel was injured while defusing a bomb recovered from the toilet, he said.

At the rally, plumes of smoke billowed from a couple of sites even as BJP leaders, including its Prime Ministerial candidate Modi, addressed the crowd.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts and appealed for calm. He spoke to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and asked him to speedily probe the blasts and ensure that perpetrators are punished.

The home ministry has sought a report from the Bihar government on the explosions and is sending teams of National Investigation Agency (NIA) and National Security Guard (NSG) to the state.

"We are in regular touch with authorities in Bihar and have offered them all necessary assistance. We are trying to get more information," minister of state for home R P N Singh said in Delhi, adding the Centre was ready to provide additional forces to maintain law and order.

The ministry has asked the state government to send a report about the nature of the bombs, suspected persons or organisations which could be behind it and steps taken to maintain law and order, official sources said.

The Centre also decided to send a team of explosive experts of the NIA to help the Bihar police in post-blast investigation, they said.

Station manager of Patna Junction Raju Kumar said eleven trains booked by the BJP for the rally had arrived much before the blast.

Patna City SP Jaykant said that security arrangements had been scaled up there.

The BJP demanded a probe into the blasts even as the incident triggered a political slugfest between the saffron party and its former ally JD(U).

"This blast cannot stop the youth from being part of Modi's rally. There is anger among people and they want to get rid of Congress and also other parties who are standing with it," BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.

"Investigation should be done so as to find out who is behind it," he said.

Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Sabir Ali questioned why "such incidents were happening after JD(U) parted ways with BJP".

"There is something suspicious. I can feel. They will divide the nation, divide the people only for power," he said.

Fearing 'mischief', BJP lines up 31 cranes for Modi's Bihar rally

BJP frets that an incidental or "mischievous" hurdle on the only surface link between Patna and 17 districts of Bihar can stop thousands of supporters from reaching the rally its prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi is scheduled to address on October 27.

To deal with such a possibility, the party plans to keep 31 cranes on standby to promptly remove any blockage that might hinder the traffic to the rally venue.

"We have to ensure nothing comes in the way of people coming to Patna for Narendrabhai's October 27 meeting. That's why we have made parallel arrangements", said Bihar BJP president Mangal Pandey.

A major point of threat the party has identified on this score is the 5.57 km long Mahatma Gandhi Setu, effectively Patna's only link to 17 districts of north Bihar across the Ganga.

"One flank of bridge is already closed for repairs. Breakdown of a truck is all it may take to block lakhs of people from north Bihar from entering Patna," said senior BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav.

As such, he said the party has also decided to deploy over 100 private security men on the bridge to ensure smooth movement of traffic and to guard against any mischief that can disrupt its movement.

Yadav, leader of the opposition in the Bihar assembly and former road construction minister, demanded that bridges bringing rallyists to Patna be made one way on the rally day like it was done for the JD (U)'s adhikar rally in Patna on November 4 last year.

It would be Modi's first rally in Patna after he was appointed as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate. For the state BJP, it is a show of strength in the wake of its split with longtime ally JD(U) that had objected to Modi's candidature.

The demand, he said, also applied to the Koilwar Bridge, which links Patna with south-central Bihar and the Rajendra Bridge at Mokama, also across the Ganga. The latter is under repair and closed to heavy vehicles, at present.

Yadav confirmed emergency handling of any breakdown on the bridge was one of the major tasks assigned to cranes being deployed to facilitate smooth movement of rally-oriented traffic.

Another backup measure the party has planned upon to guard against the blockage of the bridge is to engage a large number of boats to ferry north Bihar rallyists to Patna, across the river.

"Thanks to an organisation of fishermen, we have 126 country boats committed for Sunday's rally. They will bring people of places like Sonepur, Hajipur, Bidupur and Raghopur," Pandey told HT.

Other party leaders said at a time when stakes were high and the atmosphere heavy with suspicion, even 'excessive' measures answered to a rationale.

"Road blockage and traffic jams are always a threat to any mass mobilisation effort. But in these troubled times, posturing counts for as much as do safety measures," said a former state BJP chief.

Source: HT

Bihar has no bullet proof vehicle for Modi

The Bihar government has expressed its inability to meet Gujarat's request to provide a bullet-resistant SUV to its chief minister and BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for his less than three-hour stay during the party's Hunkar rally in Patna on October 27.

Gujarat has now decided to move its bullet-resistant SUV from New Delhi via Jhansi.

In response to Gujarat's request, the Bihar government had offered a bullet-resistant ambassador car. However, top Gujarat police officials indicated Modi's preference for a bullet-resistant SUV, which its Bihar counterparts declined.

The reason behind denial, said top government sources, was Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's two-day tour to Rajgir, 98 km south of Patna, in Nalanda district. The Janata Dal-United is holding its 'chintan shivir' (brainstorming camp) at Rajgir on October 28 and 29.

Bihar has only two bullet-resistant SUVs and 25 such ambassador cars. However, both SUVs are part of the CM's cavalcade.

Additional director-general (headquarters) Raveendra Kumar told HT: "Since Modi is a Z-plus protectee, a bullet-resistant car would be given to him." Asked about Gujarat's desire for an SUV, Kumar said: "I have not seen any such request (letter)."

The verbal request from Gujarat was made during initial telephonic deliberations between senior officers of the two states early this week.

Factory made bullet-resistant SUVs, are far more superior to retrofitted ones, as in case of ambassador cars. The ones made on assembly line have higher torque and can rev up faster than retrofitted ambassadors. Due to the heavy steel plating, a bullet-resistant SUV weighs 1.5 tonne as against the normal weight of 700 kg.

Seeing Bihar's reluctance, Gujarat even enquired if it should get jammers for negating remote control explosive device and bullet-resistant lectern. Bihar, however, indicated it would have those in place.

Source: HT

GAIL to develop natural gas footprint in Bihar

In order to expand its natural gas footprint in eastern India, GAIL (India) Limited today signed a Gas Cooperation Agreement (GCA) for Natural Gas Infrastructure and City Gas Distribution with the Department of Industries, Government of Bihar.

Under the provisions of the GCA, GAIL and the Bihar Government will evaluate the feasibility for cooperation for the development of the use of eco-friendly fuel, especially natural gas, in the state as well as development of natural gas distribution and city gas infrastructure in identified urban areas and cities after obtaining due authorization from the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).

GAIL is constructing the 2,050 km. Haldia – Jagdishpur pipeline from transmission and distribution of natural gas, of which about 621 km. will pass through 14 districts of Bihar. The mainline of the Haldia Jagdishpur will cover 04 districts of Bihar such as Kaimur, Rohtas, Aurangabad, Gaya and 10 districts for the spur lines. GAIL will explore the possibility of city gas distribution in major towns of Bihar along this pipeline route.

GAIL and Industries Department, Bihar will also work towards promotion of joint venture for city gas distribution projects for domestic, commercial, industrial and transport sectors with the participation of GAIL or its wholly owned subsidiary GAIL Gas Limited and concerned departments of the Bihar Government, other state agencies or private players.

As per the GCA, 'Natural Gas Demand Assessment and Preliminary Techno Economic Feasibility Study' will be undertaken for evaluation of medium and long term gas demand potential for the state for industrial, commercial, transport and residential sectors; assessment of pipeline infrastructure and associated facilities required for supply of natural gas including optical fibre network; and evaluation of natural gas supply options to Bihar on a long-term and competitive basis.

Source: ET

Ahead of Modi's Hunkaar rally, BJP launches massive social media campaign to woo first time voters

BJP is eyeing almost one crore first time voters in Bihar who could be decisive in seeing its PM nominee sail through in 2014. Ahead of his much anticipated Hunkaar rally in the state scheduled for 27th October, BJP has launched a massive campaign on social media to woo first time voters in the state.

NaMo will be addressing the people in Patna after a hiatus of more than three years, his last tryst being in June 2010 during the party's national convention. Modi's 2010 visit ended on a sour note with Bihar CM Nitish Kumar cancelling the dinner hosted for BJP leaders.

In order to make NaMo's 2013 visit to the state a grand success, a 15 member BJP's IT-cell is working day and night behind the scene to mobilising support for the rally. Seven of the fifteen member in the IT cell happen to be hard core IT-professionals who have been deployed by the party's Bihar unit formulate strategy to make a maximum reach to the first time voters. Already 1.5 lac people have confirmed their participation in the rally through social media, online and mobile registration.

Headlines Today/Aaj Tak has learnt that the brain child behind the extensive campaigning on social media for the rally are using all the arrows in their armoury to make the kill. Meet Amritanshu Bhardwaj and Avinash Krishna, both software engineers working for US-based companies. Both of them have engineered the rally's campaign plan apart from the door-to-door campaign being done by party leaders. Amritanshu said "I am working for a US company and based in Patna itself. NaMo has fascinated me and he is best for PM. I have decided to devote my service to BJP. I administer BJP’s website, manage Facebook and Twitter and develop content. Social media does help in image makeover, it’s a fast medium and easily one can reach out to people. I am doing it voluntarily and not charging any money".

To begin with when one visits the Bihar BJP's webpage, you will instantly find former deputy CM Sushil Modi's voice invitation uploaded on it asking people to participate in the Hunkaar rally and slamming Nitish Kumar for his betrayal. On the same webpage online registration for the rally is also going on. Social activist Madhu Kishwar's "Modi-Nama" and Suhel Seth's praise for Namo have also been uploaded on this page. An ardent BJP supporter can also relive the moment when party President Rajnath Singh announced NaMo as BJP's PM nominee in September on this page. Also the CD where the then Railway Minister Nitish Kumar praised Narendra Modi and hinted as Modi leading the nation some day has also been uploaded. More than 4 lac have already visited the Bihar BJP's webpage.

This is not the end. A Hunkaar rally event page has been opened on facebook inviting people to participate in the rally and extend their support. Already 35000 people have confirmed their presence at Gandhi Maidan on 27th October. One can also give a miss call through his cell phone on the 022-30256777 and a text invitation for the rally will be sent. Voice messages and text messages are being sent to 10 lac people across the state for the rally. If still one fails to make it to Patna on D-day, one does not need to worry. Just call on 022-45014501 on 27th October and you can hear Namo’s speech LIVE from Gandhi Maidan.

BJP feels that such high-tech campaigning is primarily aimed at wooing first time voters and youths to support Namo for PM. BJP's IT-cell convenor Sanjay Chowdhary maintains that the youths who are supporting BJP on social media are their potential voters who will help the party prospect in Bihar in 2014. Chowdhary said " Team of software engineers have extended their support to us and working on social media campaigning. These people who are supporting us and accepting our invites will be voting for us in upcoming elections".

BJP is expecting more than 5 lac people to turn out for Namo's mega rally and are doing everything possible to outdo every other Modi rally.

Source: indiatoday

Two girls elope, marry each other in Bihar

In probably the first case of same sex marriage in Bihar, two girls ran away from their homes here to get married to each other, a police official said on Monday.

The father of one of the girl's had lodged a case of kidnapping against the other girl's family.

Reema and Akansha (names changed) were married and living as a couple when police found them at a hotel in Sasaram in Bihar's Rohtas district.

Police found the girls through their mobile phone location. They will be produced in a court here, said police officer NK Rajak.

Both ran away on Oct 4 and got married at a temple in Sasaram. They were childhood friends and had studied together.

Madhubani district at a glance!

Madhubani district at a glance!

The district of Madhubani was carved out of the old Darbhanga district in the year 1972 as a result of reorganisation of the districts in the State. This was formerly the northern subdivision of Darbhanga district. It consists of 21 Development Blocks. Bounded on the north by a hill region of Nepal and extending to the border of its parent district Darbhanga in the south, Sitamarhi in the west and Supaul in the east, Madhubani fairly represents the centre of the territory once known as Mithila and the district has maintained a distinct individuality of its own.

       It is located at a Longitude of 25º-59'  to 26º-39' East and the Latitude is 85º-43'  to 86º-42' North.

Height from Sea     

       The Madhubani district is situated at height of  80 meters from Sea.

Boundary

North	South	East	West
Hill region of Nepal	Darbhanga District	Supaul  District	Sitamarhi District

Area

       • Madhubani occupies a total of 3501 sq. kms.

       • Main Rivers are Kamla , Kareh, Balan, Bhutahi Balan, Gehuan, Supen, Trishula, Jeevachh, Koshi and Adhwara Group.

       • High Flood Level is 54.017 m.

       • Whole District is under Earthquake Zone 5.

       • Total Cropped Area - 218381 Hect.

       • Barren /Uncultivable Land - 1456.5 Hect

       • Land under Non-agricultural use - 51273.24 Hect

       • Cultivable Barren Land - 333.32 Hect

       • Permanent Pasture - 1372.71 Hect

       • Miscellaneous Trees - 8835.90 Hect

       • Cultivable Land - 232724 Hect

       • Cropping Intensity - 134.23 %

Rainfall

       • Varies between 900mm and 1300 mm.

       • Average Rainfall = 1273.2 mm.

Administrative Units
1.	No. of Sub-Divisions	5
2.	No. of Blocks	21
3.	No. of Circles	20
4.	No. of Panchayats	399
5.	No. of Villages	1111
6.	No. of Police Stations	18
7.	No. of Assisting Thana	13
8.	No. of Outposts	5
9.	No. of Town Outposts	4
10.	No. of Jail	2
11.	No. of MP Constituencies	2
12.	No. of MLA Constituencies	11
13.	No. of Zila Parishad Members	56
14.	No. of Panchayat Samiti Members	555
15.	No. of Gram Panchayat Members	5523

Source: Census of India 2001.

Bihar: round-the-clock surveillance in all 56 jails

Jail authorities in Bihar are putting in place a hi-tech surveillance system that will enable them to maintain round-the-clock watch on inmates of all 56 jails in the state.

But that is not all there is to the authorities’ scheme of things. They are also preparing a database that will enable them to track the inmates over a lifetime, if required.

“Not only are the details of all inmates, comprising both under-trials and convicts, to be fed into a databank, even their visitors will have to register on-line to meet the prisoners at a scheduled date and time,” said an official.

Being introduced in the state under the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, the new scheme will facilitate central monitoring of the state’s jails from prison headquarters (HQ) in the state capital.

“In effect, officers at prison department HQ in Patna will be able to access any information from any jail, and if required, issue directions it may deem fit,” said inspector general of police (prisons) Anand Kishore.

A biometric system will also be set up after recording voice samples and fingerprints of all inmates besides using their photographs.

“The new system has already been tried at Beur jail in the outskirts of Patna. We are now ready to extend it to the remaining 55 jails within the next three months,” Kishore said.

A jail officer said computerisation under EPR, involving a total cost of Rs. 4.5 crore, would cover management of gate, stock, accounts, personnel, wages, arms and ammunitions and hospital, among many heads.

While some of the jails have already installed CCTV, Kishore said the prison department was in the process of introducing the same in the remaining jails. All eight central jails in Bihar will have a controlling officer each, too.

“Each new inmate will be provided a unique identity number while each visitor will be provided a computerized pass with their personal details, photo, fingerprint and address,” said Kishore.

The state government will provide six computers each to eight central jails, four each in 32 divisional jails and 3 each in 16 sub jails.

The IG said the ERP system would bring about transparency in the functioning of jails and leave little scope for complaints of irregularities. Others saw it as an effort to obtain a tighter grip on jailed criminals.

“These moves remind of the words from the iconic 1977 song ‘Hotel California’ by the Eagles: You can check out any time you like but you can never leave,” said another official.

Source: HT

How politics of religion, caste may help Modi to win UP, Bihar

Narendra Modi, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) prime ministerial candidate, is arguably India's most controversial politician. But as the country gears up for a general election due by May 2014, he is probably gaining attention, and plaudits, at a national level.

According to the Economic Times survey, half of Uttar Pradesh's (UP) voters prefer Modi as prime minister. But only 28% intend to vote the BJP. The trend is similar in Bihar: nearly half favour Modi over Rahul Gandhi for prime minister but only one-third will vote the BJP. This does not spell good news for the BJP or Modi. The saffron party needs to do significantly better in these two crucial states, if it is to garner enough seats overall to attract new allies and cobble together a majority.

The survey also reveals that religion and caste still play a central role in politics in UP as well as in Bihar. Caste will shape voter choice, say 47% in Bihar and 41% in UP. Religion will influence voting, say 49% in UP and 43% in Bihar.

In UP, which has the biggest number of Lok Sabha seats, Modi will begin his campaign in big way on October 19. The Hindutva mascot's itinerary includes Kanpur (October 19), Jhansi (October 25) and Bahraich (November 8). Amit Shah, a trusted associate of Modi and BJP in-charge of UP for the 2014 general elections, has been assigned the task to win maximum seats for the party.

The Muzaffarnagar riots have unsettled the social equations in western UP and catapulted the BJP into a dominant position. Political observers feel that if the party sticks to the line against alleged 'minority-appeasement' by other political parties, it could harness the Hindu votes. The BJP believes that the polarisation in western UP would help it make sizeable inroads into the Jat belt, as the Congress and Samajwadi Party (SP) are perceived as pandering to only the Muslim community.

The BJP will also try to work at social engineering after a spate of riots in UP since the SP came to power one-and-a-half years ago. West is one of the eight zones the BJP has divided UP into for putting in extra effort to achieve its target of winning 40 seats, which would be 30 more than their present strength in the state.

According to The Telegraph, Modi will contest the Lok Sabha elections from 'outside Gujarat', his principal aide Shah said, providing the first on-record validation of what was being widely speculated. He added that the list of states from where Modi might be fielded “certainly” included UP.

Bihar and UP together account for 120 of the Lok Sabha’s 542 seats. One section of the party feels that if Modi contests from UP, it would hint a committed engagement with the state and motivate the cadres and the voters, especially the floating voters.

Bihar, too, is of special interest, not only because it has 40 seats but also in view of the BJP's bitter fight with former ally, the Janata Dal (United).

While Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar managed to keep Modi out of the state even when his party was in alliance with the BJP, the Gujarat CM's presence at the Hunkar (roar) rally will be a direct challenge to him. The BJP’s star campaigner is scheduled to address the party’s much-vaunted rally on October 27. The saffron cadres are pulling out all stops to ensure the grand success of what observers see as the party’s effort to present Modi as a bigger hero than Nitish Kumar on his own soil. The BJP's state unit is banking on Modi's charisma to cut into Nitish Kumar's mass appeal - and vote bank, too.

It seems that politics in Bihar has become Modi-centric, at present. The entire political class in the State is either attacking Modi or chanting NaMo mantra. Former Congress leader and RJD boss Lalu Prasad's brother-in law Sadhu Yadav reached Ahmedabad to meet him, calling him a prime ministerial material.

Political pundits are of the view that Modi has given a final shape to Bihar electoral strategies for the LS polls. The Hindutva poster boy is putting special emphasis on social engineering in the state while preparing the party’s poll strategy. Interestingly, the first proposal to declare Modi as the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate came from Bihar.

The BJP spin doctors are also eyeing Nitish Kumar’s core constituency -- extremely backwards castes (EBCs). In an attempt to erode this vote-bank of the JD (U), the Bihar BJP unit has already started projecting Modi as a ‘representative’ of the EBCs.

Also, Upend Kushwaha, who has left JD (U) to form his own party, is reportedly coming closer to the BJP. Kushwaha has said that coming from the EBC background, Modi is the right choice for the Prime Minister’s post given his credentials as an administrator. Kushwaha, who hails from the backward Koiri caste, had been known to be very close to Nitish Kumar. The two backward castes, Kurmi and Koiri had been the backbone of the JD (U) since its inception and it is believed that Kushwaha’s rebellion could dent the base.

The saffron party also wants allure Pasmanda Muslims in the state. They form the core vote-bank of Nitish Kumar, who has sent its leader, Ali Anwar, to the Rajya Sabha for the second consecutive term. ‘Pasmanda’, a Persian term meaning “those who have fallen behind,” refers to Muslims belonging to the shudra (backward) andati-shudra (Dalit) castes.

The BJP’s campaign in Bihar will be based mainly on four themes “inspired” by Modi. A senior leader listed these as national security and national pride, good governance and Modi’s impeccable integrity, his caste origin and soft Hindutva. As the other parties are scrambling for the minority votes, the party think tank believes there could be a reverse Hindu polarisation, at least among the upper castes and sections of the backward castes that had rallied behind the party in the Ayodhya era.

Source: BS

Bihar: man kills himself after being forced to lick spit by panchayat

A 40-year-old man committed suicide by consuming pesticide on Friday after he was forced to lick spit of the members of a panchayat court in a village in Bihar’s Samastipur.

Police revealed that Ranjit Mahto, a native of Gorai under Chak Mehsi police station of Samstipur district, 115 km north east of Patna, had a fisticuff with a priest, identified as Raj Kumar Jha of Ranitola village some days back. Mahto had informed his family that he lost his cool when he saw Jha harassing his 17-year old daughter, an intermediate arts student in a nearby college.

Mahto’s act infuriated the organisers of a Durga puja committee, which had contracted Jha to conduct the rituals, and they lodged a complaint with the panchayat court, which summoned Mahto to a public hearing.

The court heard the two parties, but chose to support the influential members of the committee and then imposed a fine of Rs. 21,000 on Mahto. Mahto did not agree to the quantum of fine and asked that it should be lessened, which was not allowed. Then someone suggested, that the court members spit and Mahto be asked to lick it off the ground.

Having been forced to do so, Mahto returned to his house and then consumed insecticide lying in a room. He was the sole bread earner in a family of seven.

“They forced my brother to lick the spit of people participating in the proceedings,” said Ajaneshwar Mahto, younger brother of the deceased.

“Feeling ashamed after the incident, my brother consumed ‘sulfas’, a poisonous insecticide. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was declared brought dead by the doctors,” said Ajaneshwar.

Chandrika Prasad, superintendent of police (SP), confirmed the incident and said that an FIR had been registered with Chak Mehsi police station against 12 named and six unnamed people in this connection.

“Raids are on to nab all the accused, who are absconding,” he said.

He added that a team, led by sub-divisional police officer Amir Javed has been set up to inquire into the whole matter.

“Speedy trial will be initiated for quicker disposal of the case after getting detailed report from the SDPO,” he added.

Source: HT

7 killed in Maoist landmine blast in Bihar

At least seven persons were killed in a landmine blast by suspected CPI (Maoist) armed squads in Khudwan on the forested stretch of Aranda region under Obra block of Aurangabad district, 120km south of Patna, on Thursday evening.

Villagers in the hamlets around the site of the incident told HT that seven bodies had been found near the wreckage of the Tata Safari vehicle in which the victims were travelling at the time of the attack. Police were yet to reach the spot, some 41km north of the district headquarters and 15km west of Obra in south Bihar.

Relatives of the victims said the Maoists triggered the blast near Pathra crossing that comes under Khudwan police station.

The attack appears to be well-planned as the landmine had been planted in the midst of the road and blasted as soon as the vehicle passed over it at around 6 pm. The place that they were targeted at has never had police deployment.

Among the killed were Aurangabad district councillor Usha Devi's husband Sushil Pandey, a former Ranveer Sena 'commander' who had also been to jail for some time in connection with a murder case.

Sushil Pandey's uncle Ashok Pandey has identified other victims as Yogendra Pandey, Ram Subhash Pandey, Pappu Pandey, Manish Pandey, Ram Pravesh Pandey and Ram Vallabh Upadhyaya.

Police said Sushil Pandey was a well-known personality of the area and well-heeled, who had a running war with Maoists in the area for over 17 years.

The victims had been to Obra bazaar and were returning to their village Pishay when the landmine blast was triggered by Maoists. Police said Usha Devi and Sushil Pandeyhad been on the Maoists' hit list of for a long time.

District headquarters control room said the superintendent of police and the two DSPs had left for the spot with a CRPF CoBRA detachment and more reinforcements were being called up to scour the area.

In Patna, director general of police, Abhayanand said, "Additional reinforcements have been sent but the nature of the operations is still to be defined."

Source: HT

ET poll for 2014 election: Modi-mania sweeps UP, Bihar

A Narendra Modi wave is gathering momentum in the Hindi heartland states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, with BJP's prime ministerial candidate appearing successful in breaking down barriers that once looked impenetrable.

In the upcoming general elections that promise to be a direct contest between the Gujarat chief minister and Rahul Gandhi, Modi has outpaced the Congress vice-president by a wide margin, a survey by ET shows.

Every second voter in the two states is seen rooting for Modi's prime ministerial bid and the surge in his approval ratings is in stark contrast with the numbers for Rahul Gandhi.

While only 9 per cent respondents in Uttar Pradesh found Gandhi a suitable candidate for the prime minister's post compared with Modi's 50 per cent, his rating was marginally better in Bihar where 19 per cent backed the Congress scion's suitability.

But Gandhi trails Modi in every category of voters — gender, age groups and rural-urban.

Modi, 62, also has more traction among the young and first-time voters, despite being 19 years older than Gandhi. Unsurprisingly, Modi's candidature is prompting Muslim voters to gravitate towards Congress. But they fear this has the potential to put off Hindu voters and could lead to a counter-polarisation harmful to Congress' electoral interests.

Modi is seen to have better credentials than Gandhi to handle the economy, national security, foreign policy and national security. And, at a time coalition building is vital to securing power at the Centre, Gandhi scores low as an alliance manager. This is not good news for Congress as single party rule has become a thing of the past.

Interestingly, the survey results on the image of Modi and Gandhi among Congress and BJP voters, respectively, find Modi ahead here too — he enjoyed 11 per cent acceptability among Congress voters whereas Gandhi was favoured by just 4 per cent BJP voters. The sharp rebuke for Mulayam Singh Yadav and Nitish Kumar — Modi's main challengers in the heartland states — in these states is also helping BJP move beyond its base and attract new categories of voters. Signs of panic are already on display in the Samajwadi Party camp with Mulayam Singh recently asking the electorate not to punish him for the follies of the Uttar Pradesh government.

Modi scores higher marks for his handling of bread-and-butter issues, showing that Gujarat's economic progress under him and his relentless criticism of governance failures under the Congress-led UPA have managed to swing perceptions in his favour despite his opponents' attempts to demonise him for the 2002 communal riots.

In contrast, Gandhi appears to suffer a disconnect, with his entitlement agenda failing to strike a chord in a fast-urbanising country that is moving beyond staple needs to higher aspirations. The corruption scandals engulfing the UPA government have also hobbled Gandhi.

Past elections have shown that the electorate is quick to register its discontent in the face of political f luidity. This has translated into a sharp dip in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's approval ratings. Singh, once an icon for middle-class voters, is struggling to convince voters about his influence on the party or the government. The survey shows Singh languishing at the bottom of the league table along with the likes of LK Advani and Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Source: ET

Express train derails in Bihar; no casualty

Eleven coaches of an express train heading to Assam derailed near Patna Sahib station under Danapur division of East Central Railway (ECR) zone last night, but no casualty was reported.

The coaches of the Danapur-Khamakhya Capital Express train derailed at about 11:58 pm, ECR spokesman U.K. Jha said on Wednesday.

There was no casualty as the train was slowing down for a halt at the Patna Sahib station, Mr. Jha said.

Six coaches were put back on the track, while work was on for the remaining five coaches.

Passengers were sent on their onward journey to Khamakhya in Assam by an another train, Mr. Jha said.

Train movement on the down line of Patna-Mokama section of the Danapur division has been disrupted, but the up line is functional and trains are moving as usual on this track.

Several trains have been cancelled and routes of many others diverted due to the derailment.

The Railway has issued helpline numbers of Patna junction for any query as 0612-2202290 and 0612-2213234 and 06115-232398 of Patna Sahib station.

13236/13235 Danapur-Sahibganj Intercity, 73205 Patna-Mokama-Barauni Passenger, 73254/73258 Bhakhtiyarpur-Rajgir passenger and 18184 Danapur-Tata Express were cancelled, Mr. Jha said, adding that several trains have also been diverted.

13008 Toofan Express scheduled to go to Mughalsarai has been diverted via Gaya, Patna-Puri Express via Patna-Gaya-Manpur, 12318 Akaltakht Express arriving in Mughalsarai diverted via Gaya and 12368 Vikramshila Express will now come to Patna junction from Mughalsarai via Gaya.

Source: hindu

Nitish Kumar makes ‘khaini’ tax-free in Bihar

At a time when the central government is spending crores on anti-tobacco drive, Bihar government has decided to keep raw chewing tobacco (khaini) out of the tax net to help farmers who grow tobacco in the state.

The decision to keep 'khaini' free from tax was taken at a state cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Recently, a delegation of tobacco growers met Kumar with a demand to keep them away from tax payment, sources said.

The decision has earned the Bihar CM huge criticism as a huge percentage of the state population is addicted to tobacco.

A Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) has revealed that every second adult in Bihar is addicted to khaini. About 63 percent of the men and 35 percent of women in Bihar consume it.

Source: Zee

'Phailin' reduced to "low pressure area", lying over Bihar

Two days after it made landfall on the east coast at a speed of 200kmph, cyclonic storm 'Phailin' turned into a "low pressure area" on Monday evening, MeT department has said.

The storm, reduced to a depression by Monday noon, has further weakened and is lying over southwest Bihar and its neighbourhood as a "well-marked low pressure area" with a speed of 25-35kmph, MeT department said.

Marking of the low pressure area means MeT department is now treating it as a normal phenomenon and no longer as a cyclone.

The weatherman, however, warned that despite its severely reduced intensity, the low pressure area still carries clouds which will lead to heavy rainfall in Bihar and the sub- Himalayan regions of Nepal, West Bengal and Sikkim in the coming 24-48 hours.

"Although the intensity has reduced, we will continue to monitor it for the next 72 hours as we are expecting heavy rainfall in the areas it will pass over," a MeT department scientist said.

The storm, first observed as a low pressure area on Oct. 3 in the North Andaman Sea, gradually turned into a "very severe cyclonic storm" and made landfall on Oct. 12 between Kalingapatnam and Paradip with its epicentre being Gopalpur in Odisha.

The intense storm, coupled with extremely heavy rainfall which lasted for six hours after landfall, battered the east coast on Saturday evening. But by noon on Sunday, the storm had reduced in intensity with its speed coming down to 160-170kmph.

Close to 10 lakh people were evacuated in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh to minimise the loss of life from the cyclone as it ripped through the east coast.

According to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the cyclonic storm has led to losses of more than Rs 3,000 crore with over 2.4 lakh houses destroyed in Odisha alone.

Source: ET

TARGETING OBC VOTES, BJP INDUCTS NCP’S SURAJ YADAV

Eyeing to make inroads into the significant votebank constituted by the OBC, the Delhi BJP on Monday included NCP leader Suraj Yadav into the party fold.Yadav, who inherits the legacy of social engineering from his grandfather

BP Mandal, the chairman of the Mandal Commission, is expected to garner support from a large number of OBC voters residing across the national Capital.The Delhi-based leader had been active in student politics in Delhi University as he had also been the vice president of ABVP in Delhi from 1988-1991.

The Other Backward Classes (OBC) constitute nearly 30 per cent of the total votes in trans-Yamuna area while their population is as high as 50 per cent in the South and South-Western parts of the Capital. The overall population of OBCs in Delhi is nearly 44 per cent excluding the Jats that constitutes seven per cent of the total votes.

Including the Jat population, the total population of OBCs goes up to 51 per cent. The community has so far been the traditional votebank of the ruling Congress and hence, the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to eat into the vote share of the Congress. As the BJP leaders put it, the party would replicate the social engineering formula in Delhi that had led to a nationwide revolution in

the late 1970s with recommendations of the Mandal Commission, for a significant proportion of all Government and educational institutions, to be reserved for applicants from the Other Backward Classes.

An associate professor of History in Delhi University’s Shradhanand College, Yadav may also be assigned the responsibility of connecting with OBC students and teachers, particularly the migrants, who were immensely benefited with the recommendations of the Mandal Commission. “There has to be a uniform representation of all sections in the social justice groups. BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi’s model of development aims at overall inclusive growth,” Yadav told The Pioneer explaining his reason to join the BJP after he had switched to the NCP. Yadav had earlier contested the Lok Sabha Polls from his hometown Madhepura in 1999 against two political heavyweights — Sharad Yadav and Lalu Prasad Yadav — both belonging to the OBC communities.

Source: DP

BJP hires 10 trains for Narendra Modi's rally in Bihar

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has hired 10 trains to ferry its supporters here for the Oct 27 rally of its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, a senior leader said Thursday. Since last month, BJP leaders have been busy touring different parts of state to mobilise supporters for the rally. Several buses have also been hired for the rally. "The party has booked 10 special trains, with 18 bogies each, for the rally," senior BJP leader Nand Kishore Yadav said, adding that the trains will run from different parts of the state to Patna. 

The special trains will run from Kishanganj, Purnea, Araria, Bhagalpur, Saharsa, Bettiah, Bagha and Samastipur, among other cities. Yadav, the leader of opposition in the state assembly, said the BJP's district units will also ferry people by buses. "We are planning to hire buses from Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, as there are not enough buses available in the state," he said. Senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi claimed that the number of peoplea attending the rally would break all previous records. "If lakhs of people can turn up to hear Narendra Modi in Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad and Rewari (in Haryana), where the party has few legislators, one can only imagine the biggest ever turnout in Patna," Sushil Modi said, adding that Narendra Modi's presence would be a big draw. 

After Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar broke the Janata Dal-United alliance with the BJP in June over the projection of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the saffron party's prime ministerial candidate, the Oct 27 rally will be the first show of strength by the BJP in Bihar. An East Central Railway (ECR) official said an action plan was drawn up by the railways to run special trains Oct 26-27. "We have made elaborate arrangements for smooth running of passenger trains as well as long-distance trains," he said. The ECR has borrowed coaches from different zones because of shortage of coaches in view of several Puja special trains running throughout the country. October 27 rally will be the first show of strength by the BJP in Bihar. Several senior railway officials have been deputed to supervise the arrangement of special trains for the rally. Hundreds of railway officials, including travelling ticket examiners (TTEs), station masters and traffic inspectors, would be deployed to manage the smooth running of these specials. In Bihar, political parties have in the past too hired trains for rallies. 

Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) hired 13 special trains from various parts of Bihar and Jharkhand to ferry supporters to a rally in May this year. When Lalu Prasad was railway minister in 2007, the RJD booked 35 trains for his Chetawani (warning) Rally in Patna. Last year, Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United hired half a dozen special trains for Nitish Kumar's Adhikar (rights) Rally in Patna.

Source: oneIndia

Loknayak Jaiprakash Narayan

Jai Prakash Narayan was known as the ‘LokNayak’ and one of the greatest men of the 20thcentury. He was the man who raised his voice against the emergency rule of Mrs. Indira Gandhi and her Government.

In true sense a patriot, Shri Jaiprakash Narrayan was born on October 11, 1902 in Sitabdiara Village of Balia district in Bihar, he was the son of Shri Harsood a yal and Smt. Phool Rani. He was born on Vijai Dashmi.

He started his education in his village. He passed matriculation examination in 1919. Then he joined a famous college but he had to stop his studies because he joined the freedom struggle. In 1922 he went to San-Francisco where he did his graduation with his own efforts. Thus he was a self-made student. In 1929 he returned to India.

He made up his mind to live and die for his country. He dedicated his life to the struggle for freedom in 1934. In 1934 he became the Secretary of the Socialist Party. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru offered him the membership of Congress Working Committee in 1946 but he rejected it. In Nehru’s second request, he joined Congress Committee with Ram Manohar Lohia. But both of them left the Congress Working Committee. Shri Jaiprakash Narayan became the General Secretary of the Socialist Party which got itself sepasted from the Congress.

From 1950 to 1974, he remained with Acharaya Vinoba Bhave and took interest an active part in Bhoodan Movement and Sarvodya. He also went to Chambal Valley and persuaded the dacoits to surrender. Later in 1974, he observed that there was corruption from top to bottom among the leaders of the Government. This thing compelled him to jump again into politics. A call for ‘Total Revolution’ reached every nook and corner of the country. M.L.A.’s from Gujrat and Buhar Assemblies resigned their seats.

He took great interest in the political development of the country. He created a great stir in the political field. Indira got alarmed. To put down J.P.’s movement she declared Emergency on June 25, 1975. She put the leaders of the opposition along with J.P. Narayan in the prison. He came out of the jail with his broken health in 1976 to take part in the Elections.

The great leaders of five opposition parties joined hands under the guidance of Shri Jai Prakash Narayan. They made a party calling it Janata Party to contest the election against the Congress Party. Lok Nayak did great work for his party and won the election.

SHRI Jaiprakash Narayan was a selfless worker. Once Pandit Nehru offered him the post of a minister in the Union Cabinet. He refused it. He was the true follower of Gandhian principles. People called him “king without crown”. He was a symbol of light for ruling Janta Party.

Narendra Modi to be given God-like presence at Bihar puja pandals

Brand Modi is being given a local touch and extended to the puja pandals in Bihar. Now on, he will be as much a part of festivities in Patna as he is of Navratra celebrations in Ahmedabad.

A song, posters of BJP's PM hopeful wearing a Bihari "gamcha" and an invite for the hunkar rally in Patna will be part of the BJP's offering to puja festivities in the state.

Last month when Modi told his story of starting life as a tea vendor in New Delhi, his party leaders in Bihar saw in it a way of reaching out to people cutting across the state's caste and social barriers. Sensing that Modi's humble background and his words of being a "sevak, not a shashak and a daas, not a nath" could have touched several hearts in the state, the BJP has geared up for a strategy aimed at upsetting friend-turned-foe Nitish Kumar's caste calculations in the run-up to 2014 polls.

This tactic even reflects in a song on Modi that the BJP is planning to play at puja pandals, as it mobilises people for his hunkar rally on October 27. Composed by the party's cultural cell, the final stanza of the song dumps caste and religion-based politics. During pujas, BJP plans to have a Modi stall where it will play the Namo song and put up his posters in different local attires and moods.

"We are trying to reach out to a cross section of society to widen our social base," said Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP general secretary in-charge of Bihar.

Puja pandals and politics have been strange bedfellows in eastern India, particularly in West Bengal. In the 1980s, images of the Bofors guns were put up at puja pandals, a Bihar politician recalled.

The BJP has pulled out all the stops to ensure that the rally "surpasses all past rallies" even as the acrimony between the party and CM Nitish Kumar gets more bitter. With two slogans- "vishwasghaat ko dhikkaar hunkar utha Bihar" and "nai soch, nai umeed" the BJP is planning a door-to-door campaign to extend invitations to people for the rally, besides using online registration and missed call registration.

Source: ET

HC acquits 26 convicted of Laxmanpur-Bathe carnage

In a startling verdict, the Patna high court on Wednesday acquitted all 26 people convicted by the trial court of massacring 58 dalits at Laxmanpur-Bathe village, 90km from Patna in Arwal district, on December 1, 1997, giving them the benefit of the doubt. Laxmanpur-Bathe was one of the worst single day massacres in Bihar's long drawn caste wars in the 1980s and 1990s.

Laxmanpur-Bathe, in Arwal district along the Sone river, was targeted by upper caste militia Ranvir Sena because its members believed the village's dalits, mostly poor and landless, were Maoist sympathizers involved in the killing of 37 upper caste men in Bara in Gaya in 1992. At least four dalit families were eliminated in the bloodbath.

There was apparently no connection between the upper caste members who had died in 1992 and the poor Dalits who were slaughtered in cold blood in 1997. Ranvir Sena was created by Bhumihars to take on the Naxals, who had dalits as foot soldiers.

The private militiamen had crossed the river Sone on two large boats, stealthily walked into the village, broke open doors and fired at the sleeping men, women and children at midnight on December 1. Incidentally, Ranvir Sena chief Brahmeshwar Mukhiya was killed in June 2012 with no headway yet on his murderers.

A division bench of Justice V N Sinha and Justice A K Lal said the prosecution had failed to produce proper evidence against the accused, said defence counsel Ram Suresh Rai. The court also asked the Arwal district magistrate to pay proper compensation to the kin of the carnage victims within two months.

Charges were framed in the case against 46 members of the Ranvir Sena on December 23, 2008. Amid a nationwide outcry over the Laxmanpur-Bathe killings, then RJD government headed by Rabri Devi had set up a judicial panel headed by Justice (retd) Amir Das to probe the political connections of the Ranvir Sena. But the commission was wrapped up in 2006 soon after Nitish Kumar became the CM as the NDA leader.

The opposition parties, including the RJD and CPI(ML), had then alleged the Nitish government was protecting the interests of the Ranvir Sena and suppressing the voice of the poorest of the poor.

Those sentenced to death by the trial court included Girija Singh, Surendra Singh, Ashok Singh, Gopal Sharan Singh, Baleshwar Singh, Dwarka Singh, Vijendra Singh, Nawal Singh, Baliram Singh, Nandu Singh, Sheomohan Sharma, Pramod Singh, Shatrughan Singh, Ramkeval Sharma, Dharma Singh and Nand Singh. Those awarded life imprisonment were Babloo Sharma, Ashok Singh, Mithilesh Sharma, Dharikshan Choudhary, Navin Kumar, Ravindra Singh, Surendra Singh, Sunil Kumar, Pramod Kumar and Chandreshwar Singh.

Source: TOI