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2 Local News/Nation THE ECHOOF INDIAPORT BLAIR SaturdayDecember 23, 2017 Now book your classified ads in THE ECHO OF INDIA VIGY VIGY VIGY VIGY VIGYA FONE A FONE A FONE A FONE A FONE from your Home!!! Call : DURGA: 9679590882* *only for PBMC areas THE ECHO OF INDIA DOES NOT STAND LIABLE TO ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONTENTS OF ANY AND ALL ADVERTISEMENTS CARRIED IN THE PUBLICATION. Ray meets Power Minister in New Delhi From page-2 Immediate action is re- quired to renovate the building to protect the life of workers and off course machineries, no concrete plan so far has been brought out for replacement of ‘over head electric lines’ of 1980 in to ‘underground cable lines’, undue delay for sub- mission of DPR to avail the central assistance under the scheme of DDUGJY and IPDS, so far as setting up of LNG base power plant is concerned, the Administra- tion is not serious as much as required for that. After de- tailed discussion, the Minis- ter of Power has assured to M.P for resolving the entire shortfalls at the earliest as possible. The Minister has further informed the M.P that a High Level Meeting will be convened in the Ministry in which the Lt. Governor, A & N Islands and other Senior Officers of the Administration will be also attended the said meeting to sort out entire shortfalls of Electricity de- partment. Picture shows the Deputy Commissioner of Nicobar District, Mr. Awanish Kumar and Asst. Commissioner Great Nicobar, Mr. Ranjeet Kumar Singh with Prof Balu Prakash, Founder Director General, Futures Research and Development Academy (FR&DA) and Mini-India's FR&DA Trustees Mr. Kiran Setty, Mr. Gagandeep Singh Grewal, Mr. Bharati Raja, Ms. Sadhana Kumari, Ms. Rama Bag, Ms. Sita Devi and Mr. Mukunda Rao at the APWD guest house, Campbell Bay during the recent visit of the Lt. Governor to the region. Bombay HC sets aside Maharashtra Guv's nod to prosecute ex-CM Chavan in Adarsh case Like 2G, Adarsh was never a scam: Sanjay Nirupam MUMBAI, DEC 22 /--/ The Bombay High Court today set aside the sanc- tion granted to the CBI by Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao to prosecute senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan in the Adarsh housing society scam. A division bench of Justices Ranjit More and Sadhana Jadhav ruled that though the CBI had claimed to be in possession of fresh evidence against Chavan at the time of seeking the sanction, it "failed to present any fresh evidence." The bench said the material presented by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) before Governor Rao could not be converted into credible fresh evidence against Chavan. "The sanctioning authority is an independent body that can't allow itself to be influenced by anyone's opinion," the court said. The bench was hearing a petition filed by the Congress leader, challenging the sanc- tion granted by the Governor in Feb- ruary 2016 to prosecute the former chief minister of Maharashtra under various sections of the IPC related to criminal conspiracy and cheating, besides provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The former chief minister had challenged Rao's order in the High Court, calling it "arbitrary, illegal and unjust" and passed with "malafide intentions". Chavan, cur- rently the president of the Maharashtra unit of the Congress, had served as the chief minister be- tween December 2008 and November 2010 before he was asked to step down on charges of corruption in the Adarsh scam. The CBI has accused Chavan of approving additional floor space index (FSI) for the Adarsh soci- ety in posh south Mumbai, and ac- cepting two flats for his relatives in return when he was the chief minis- ter. He is also accused of illegally ap- proving, as revenue minister earlier, allotment of 40 per cent of flats to ci- vilians even though the society was originally meant for defence person- nel. The CBI had earlier told the HC that if Chavan's petition is allowed, it would amount to his acquittal, which would render the entire probe exer- cise futile. Mumbai Congress presi- dent Sanjay Nirupam today claimed that like 2G, Adarsh was never a scam and alleged that it was a ploy of the BJP to malign his party. "The earlier state governor had rejected sanction to prosecute former chief minister Ashok Chavan in the Adarsh case. But the BJP government, in a politically motivated move, got the present gov- ernor to give a sanction again, which the HC has set aside today," Nirupam told news agency PTI. "Like 2G, Adarsh was never a scam. The plot be- longed to the Maharashtra govern- ment. It was never reserved for de- fence or martyr's kin. It was just a nor- mal housing project," he said. The BJP led a "sinister campaign" to malign the Congress and after 2G verdict on Thursday, the false propaganda has been exposed, Nirupam alleged. Former telecom minister and DMK leader A Raja, Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi and others were yester- day acquitted in the politically-sensi- tive 2G spectrum allocation cases by a special court which held that the prosecution miserably failed to prove the scam involving corruption and money laundering. Restrictions imposed in parts of Srinagar SRINAGAR, DEC 22 /--/ Authorities today imposed re- strictions in parts of Srinagar to maintain law and order in view of protests called by separatists. Restrictions have been imposed in seven police station areas of Srinagar, a police official said. He said restrictions under Section 144 CrPc have been imposed in Safakadal, Nowhatta, Khanyar, Rainawari and M R Gunj police station areas of the city, while partial curbs were in force in Maisuma and Kralkhud areas. The curbs have been imposed as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order, the official said. Sepa- ratists on Thursday called for peaceful protests after Friday prayers today against the killing of civilians in Shopian and Kupwara districts of Kashmir. Delhi HC asks CBI to trace founder of Rohini ashram NEW DELHI, DEC 22 /--/ The Delhi High Court today asked the CBI to trace the founder of the north Delhi-based ashram where girls were allegedly kept under illegal con- finement. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar has aksed Virender Dev Dixit, the founder of the Adhyatmik Vishwa Vidyalaya in North Del- hi's Rohini to be present before it on January 4. The High Court had on Thursday raised doubts over the ashram's claims that women inmates there were not illegally con- fined, saying that if they were free, why were they being kept behind locked doors. The bench had also sought to know why the ashram's founder was not making an appear- ance if he was genuine and honest. State tate tate tate tate Notes otes otes otes otes DMK has now emerged like ‘gold refined by fire’: Stalin on 2G case CHENNAI, DEC 22 /--/ DMK leader M K Stalin today said the verdict in the 2G spectrum allocation case has come as a "blow" to those who wanted to "taint" the party. Hailing the acquittal of Kanimozhi and A Raja, he said the party has now emerged like "gold refined by fire." Quoting certain observations made by the special judge in the verdict, Sta- lin said it showed the case was "fabricated with an aim of targeting and sidelining DMK" at the national level. "The DMK, after having faced insults and slander for baseless false charges, swam through the river of fire, and after seven years has emerged as gold refined by fire," Stalin, DMK working president, said in a letter to partymen. MUMBAI, DEC 22 /--/ The Governor's office has been saved from setting a "new precedent", Congress leader Ashok Chavan said today after the Bombay High Court quashed the sanction to prosecute him granted by the Maharashtra governor in the Adarsh housing soci- ety scam. Maintaining that the allegations against him were base- less and without any proof, the former chief minister said the court order reaffirms his faith in the judiciary. "The HC order reaffirms my faith in the judiciary. I am sat- isfied. The state governor had given the sanction to prosecute me overruling the decision of his pred- ecessor. With today's court decision, the gover- nor's office has been saved from setting a new precedent," Chavan told newspersons. He said he had always maintained that the case against him was "politically moti- vated." The former chief minister said the court order came because the allegations against him were "baseless and with- out any proof". "I suf- fered personal damage in the last seven years be- cause of the charges against me. I had to quit as the chief minister. But, I am involved in my party work. I am thankful to the people in my constitu- ency for standing by me," Chavan said. He also said the BJP should not in- dulge in the politics of vendetta at a personal level. To a question on whether he would be the chief ministerial face of the Congress in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls, Chavan said any de- cision in this regard would be taken by the party. Order reaffirms my faith in judiciary: Chavan
