“We have filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, pleading for the transfer of the case to CBI as we are not happy with the progress made by local police,” Balsame Sangma, the victim’s elder sister, told reporters.

Dana, an MBA student, committed suicide in her hostel room April 24 after she was allegedly humiliated for cheating in an exam.

Balsame Sangma said her sister was subjected to a “different treatment”. However, when her father took up the issue with the university, Dana was told to concentrate on her studies.

“She had called our father a couple of times about being treated differently but she said she will manage it,” Balsame said.

Victor D. Sangma, a relative, said Haryana Police were favouring the institute.

“Dana’s family members were not allowed to enter the university and her body was removed from the hostel room before her local guardian arrived. This raises several questions,” Victor D. Sangma said.

He said that police had refused to share details of the case with the family members and urged Home Minister P. Chidambaram to take a tough stance on the matter.

Deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia

NEW YORK
(IANS) India can grow at 8 to 9 percent for the next 20 years despite many domestic challenges, Indian Planning Commission’s Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said and urged the international community to take supportive measures like resolving the European sovereign debt problem and concluding the Doha Round of trade libralisation talks early to achieve this.
“We believe India has the potential to grow at rates between 8 and 9 per cent for the next twenty years and to do so in an inclusive manner,” Ahluwalia said participating in a United Nations General Assembly debate on “State of the World Economy and Finance in 2012″ Thursday.
“There are many challenges we have to face domestically to achieve this target, but we believe we can do so,” he said.
“We are willing to work with others to make it so,” he added.
The Indian economy grew at an average rate of 9 per cent in the five years prior to the 2008 financial crisis. The growth slowed down to just over 7 per cent following the crisis.
He said India would be greatly helped in achieving the traget if the global community took steps to restore growth in the developing world.
“The economic woes we face today cannot be overcome without the major developed countries taking the lead to stimulate economic growth.”
These included an early agreement on the resolution of the sovereign debt problem in the eurozone and a well functioning international financial system channelling resources efficiently around the world.
“Early resolution of the eurozone crisis would remove much of the uncertainty which currently pervades financial markets and which affects investor sentiment adversely”, Ahluwalia said.
He said it was satisfying to note that growth rates have remained more robust than many would have expected, particularly when expansion in the developed countries has been hit hard by the financial crisis.
“This ‘growth resilience’ reflects the fact that large numbers of developing countries now have stronger human and institutional capacities to grow. These economies are not de-linked from industrialised countries; the links are strong, but they operate on a higher underlying growth potential,” he said.
“Given the much higher growth potential in developing countries, a well functioning financial system should ensure a sufficient flow of long-term capital towards them,” he added.
Ahluwalia also called for an early conclusion of the Doha Development Round to further liberalise world trade. “The economic woes we face today cannot be overcome without the major developed countries taking the lead to stimulate economic growth.”
The Doha Round of trade negotiations among the World Trade Organisation (WTO) members aims to achieve reforms of the international trading system through introducing lower trade barriers and revised rules.
Ahluwalia also said steps at the national level must be accompanied by a broader based advance in improving global governance by allowing more voice and participation for important developing countries in the decision-making structures of the international financial system.

Musician ShriLektric

NEW DELHI
(IANS) Britain-based Indian musician Shri, also known as ShriLektric, is coming here on a four-city tour, starting May 24.
The multi-intstrumentalist will perform in Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur and Pune.
“I am extremely excited to tour India as playing in front of a live audience gives me a high. I am sure we will rock each city,” Shri said in a statement.
Shri, who loves to play fusion with a battalion of loopers, effects and computers, will start his tour in Delhi, where he will collaborate with Gayatri Iyer (Kunal Ganjawalla’s wife) on vocals and Finix Ramdas on the violin.
Known for his acoustic, electric and computing based live performance, Shri is one of the founding members of the Asian Underground Music in Britain.
During his tour, Shri will also do a special jugalbandi on the loop-station with 16-year-old beat boxing prodigy Raj Varma from Voctronica, the country’s first vocal beat boxing orchestra.

Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan

MUMBAI
(IANS) Giselli Monteiro, Barbara Mori, Amy Jackson… A slew of foreign beauties are playing key roles in Bollywood films. But director Abhishek Kapoor feels this obsession with “white girls” can be damaging to ‘desi’ actresses.
“Our obsession with white girls playing lead in Indian films is extremely detrimental to the psyche of the Indian girl. As bad as selling fairness cream,” tweeted the “Rock On!!” director.
“Our Indian girls are being sidelined to favour of this Caucasian invasion… STOP this madness and recognise our own beauties,” he added.
Kapoor, who is now working on “Kai Po Che!”, based on Chetan Bhagat’s “The 3 Mistakes of My Life”, says he is especially disturbed with how filmmakers cast foreigners in the role of an Indian girl.
Brazilian model Giselli featured as a Punjabi girl in “Love Aaj Kal”. She also played an Indian in “Always Kabhi Kabhi”.
British model-actress Amy Jackson played a Malayalee in “Ekk Deewana Tha”.
“I have no problem with a Caucasian girl playing a Caucasian… But selling her as a Punjabi or an Indian is deluding the audience and also making the Indian naive woman feel inadequate.
“Extremely harmful to their psyche, and people in power should be more responsible,” wrote Kapoor.

Movie pooster

movie review

Film: “Mr. Bhatti on Chutti”; Cast: Anupam Kher, Abid Ali, Shakti Kapoor, Emma Kearney and Pawan Shankar; Director: Karan Razdan; Rating: 1/2

Karan Razdan‘s much-awaited “Mr. Bhatti on Chutti” is an absolute no-no if you are on a chhutti (holiday) yourself! It neither entertains, nor boasts of any great histrionics.
With Anupam Kher in the lead role and a seemingly fun title, one is all geared to watch a great performance and have lots of laughs. But sadly, the film offers none of that.
From the word go, all that the viewer gets to see is buffoonery and contorted body movements, in which Anupam indulges unabashedly. And all in the name of humour!
“BB Bhatti, manager, Dhanalaxmi Bank in Nalasopara and a part-time detective of my area.” — Mr. Bhatti (Anupam) mouths this introduction repeatedly, and with a peace plan tucked under his sleeve, he is on a quest seeking US President George Bush.
Unable to handle Bhatti’s idiosyncrasies, his boss Anjan Shivastav happily grants him leave. Mr. Bhatti is off on a free holiday, courtesy a prize he has won in a contest he never participated in.
From John Lennon Liverpool Airport, Bhatti is on a shaky note. His irritatingly queer and senseless behaviour infuriates his co-vacationers. But Bhatti continues undeterred. And to compound matters, there are mysterious innuendoes which lead us to a plot that has been layered with terrorism.
Apparently, Bhatti happens to be a look-alike of Abu Siddique, a wanted terrorist for the 2005 Britain bombings. Cajoled by his idol Amitabh Bachachan (Bhatti speaks to him on the phone) into helping the British police in trapping Abu Siddique, the innocent Bhatti gets caught in his own web.
The strength of this script is the plot, which seems to have become secondary to the character and thus loses its essence as the film progresses. Anupam’s forced grimacing and awkward body movements in a bid to evoke laughter, prove to be a tad annoying.
The seemingly uncalled for actions, trite humour, half-baked characters of another era, add to mediocrity and the boredom.
Veteran actors like Shakti Kapoor, Abid Ali are wasted and Pawan Shankar and Bhairavi Goswami are reduced to characters in suspended animation without a context or a proper storyline.
So is this film irredeemably awful? Believe you me, it is. It taxes your nerves and is a waste of time as the contrived attempt at humour is unpalatable. Even if you try hard, you cannot laud Anupam Kher’s performance.
Mr. Bhatti’s character is sweet and could have worked, but for want of better treatment by Razdan. He has clearly overstretched Anupam and let him lead the film instead. Result? All is lost.
Watch it and you will need another chutti! So opt for a holiday instead.

The notice on the gate of a graveyard says bodies from other localities will be allowed to be buried here. It also says there is no permission to build 'pucca' graves

HYDERABAD
(IANS) “Mar ke bhi chain na paya to kidhar jayenge? (If there is no peace in death, then where will I go?” This Urdu couplet from Ibrahim Zauq aptly sums up the problem of the dead in Hyderabad.
In this booming metropolis, where thousands struggle for a place to live in, even death offers no solution. Rapid urbanisation, burgeoning population, escalating land prices and shrinking graveyards due to encroachments have virtually left no place to bury the dead.
Some graveyards have already hung “no space available” boards while others are refusing to allow the burial of “outsiders” or those residing in other localities.
The burial in any graveyard costs no less than Rs.10,000. Those attached to dargahs are charged anywhere between Rs.15,000 and Rs.50,000 for two yards. Still, in places such as Yousufain dargah at Nampally in the heart of the city, it comes for a whopping Rs.100,000.
Non-allocation of land for new graveyards, encroachments on existing ones, construction of concrete tombs by people and a high demand for burial grounds attached to dargahs have only compounded the problem.
The issue has religious, social as well as economic aspects. Some people consider it sacred to be buried near the tomb of a saint. It was due to such beliefs that the demand for such spaces increased and some custodians started taking advantage of the situation.
The management officials of some graveyards, however, justify the collection of money.
“We have only rocks left in the graveyard, hence we ask people to pay for the expenses we incur in clearing the rocks. This amount works out to anywhere between Rs.5,000 and Rs.6,000 for each grave. We also accept donations,” Mohammed Jahangir, secretary of the management committee at Jamia Masjid on A Battery Lane, told IANS.
The committee displays a board saying the graveyard is not for the burial of those from other localities. But people from several localities come here with recommendations from MLAs, Wakf board chairman and others. “They even fight with us,” said Jahangir, who has been heading the committee for 42 years.
The management committee has fatwas from Islamic seminaries which say after a grave turns old, one can dig it up to bury another body. However, people don’t allow this and even build concrete structures on graves.
Wakf board chairman Syed Ghulam Afzal Biyabani alias Khusro Pasha, however, says people are not coming forward to complain against ‘mutawallis’ (custodians) charging money. “We will definitely take action in such cases,” he said.
“The mutawallis tell us they have to collect the money to protect and maintain graveyards. We agree that charging Rs.2,000 to Rs.4,000 is fine, but it should not be more than this,” he told IANS.
“We are doing our best to address the space crunch by identifying new lands at a distance from the city,” he said.
“This problem is not of the Muslim community alone. Even Hindus and Christians are finding it difficult to cremate or bury their dead,” said Syed Amin Jafri, legislator of the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM).
He pointed out that the number of graveyards or cemeteries has not increased in proportion to the population over the last four to five decades. From just 1.25 million in 1971, the population has gone up to 7.7 million.
“The problem is reaching an alarming level. Unless the government intervenes and provides land for new burial grounds the issue can’t be solved,” said Jafri.
“The government should allot 100 to 150 acres of land about 40 km away from the city for free burial,” said Syed Vicaruddin, chief editor of Urdu daily Rehnuma-e-Deccan. He blames encroachments on hundreds of acres of land belonging to the Wakf board for the present crisis.

The shattered vehicle in which the three judges were travelling

NEW Delhi

(IANS) Protesting the attack on three judges by bike-borne men in yet another incident of road rage in the capital, lawyers in all the six district courts of Delhi Friday observed a one-day strike, paralysing legal work, a lawyers’ body said.
“We condemn the attack on three judicial officers of Saket court complex,” said Kuldeep Sehrawat, chairman of the district courts bar association coordination committee.
What will be the condition of common masses, he asked, when city judges are not safe, he asked.
Madan Lal, president, Saket Court Bar Association, said government must provide proper security to judicial officers. He said that one of the arrested person involved in this case was also named in four other cases.
The strike paralysed the work at all six city courts– Saket, Patiala House, Tis Hazari, Karkardooma, Rohini and Dwarka.
Metropolitan Magistrate Ajay Garg, Additional Sessions Judge M.K. Nagpal and Additional District Judge Inderjeet Singh were attacked by four young men on two motorbikes Thursday.
Metropolitan Magistrate Ajay Garg and driver Chaman Lal were hospitalized with head injuries after the bikers rained bricks on their windscreen soon after the judge’s car grazed one of the motorcycles, toppling two men.
The incident occurred at Dakshinpuri when the judges were returning home from the nearby Saket court, police said.

Anti Posco leader and former legislator Narayan Reddy

BHUBANESWAR
(IANS) A former Odisha legislator who was arrested in connection with clashes near the Posco steel plant site in Jagatsinghpur district last year was released on bail Friday, an official said.
N. Narayan Reddy, a Communist Party of India leader who represented Chhatrapur assembly constituency from 2004 to 2009, was arrested Dec 24 for his alleged role in the Dec 14 clashes in which one person was killed.
The court of the Judicial Magistrate First Class at the block headquarters town of Kujanga, about 120 km from here, granted a conditional bail to Reddy on the basis of a direction from the Odisha High Court.
As soon as the news of his release spread, hundreds of anti-Posco villagers converged near the Kujanga jail premises and gave him a heroic welcome.
“Police had framed me in false case to weaken the anti-Posco agitation. We will continue our protest against the project,” Reddy told reporters outside the jail after his release.
Reddy was arrested in connection with clashes between workers and local villagers that erupted after hundreds of villagers did not allow workers to carry out the construction of a road in the region.
The 10-km coastal road will help authorities speed up work for the South Korean steel major Posco’s $12 billion project for a composite steel and power plant, the country’s largest foreign direct investment.
Reddy was heading the villagers’ anti-Posco movement after protest leader Abhaya Sahu was arrested in November on various charges.

Pomogranate motives dominate the interiors at Kaya Kalp Spa at ITC Mughal Agra.

NEW DELHI
(IANS) The spa culture has arrived in India. Hundreds of spas across the country are providing high-quality treatments with lots of innovative packages. Modern science and traditional Indian practices combine at these temples of well-being to offer a wide variety of experiences at different price points.
The recent GeoSpa AsiaSpa India Awards at The Claridges Surajkund was to honour the stalwarts of this growing industry — 25 of the best spas from all over India were awarded at a well-attended evening function. Bollywood’s latest sensation Sonakshi Sinha was crowned “Spa Diva” even as loads of awards given away during the evening were interspersed with dynamic performances.
“2011 has been a fantastic year for the spa industry, particularly here in India. This year’s awards are our most competitive yet,” said Parineeta Sethi, chief editor and publisher of AsiaSpa India Magazine.
The Imperial Spa and Salon, considered the largest spa in the capital and housed inside The Imperial Hotel at Janpath, was judged “The Best New Spa (Hotel)” along with the Jiva Spa at Taj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad. The Imperial Spa, which opened about a year ago with its sublime opulence, is designed to purely de-stress and rejuvenate the body and mind. A must-try there is a signature line called SUFI.
Also providing the ultimate spa treatments in the country are The ITC Mughal Agra and The Claridges at Surajkund. Both were adjudged the “Most Luxurious Spa Treatment 2011′ for their spectacular offerings. The Surajkund Ritual at The Claridges Spa is designed to balance the primary life forces of fire from the sun or ‘suraj’ and water from the ‘kund’ or lake. The ritual also includes a cleansing body scrub followed by a synchronised massage and the healing properties of hot stones.
Kaya Kalp at ITC Mughal in Agra is the largest spa in the country spread over nearly 100,000 square feet. The whole spa is themed on the pomegranate fruit due to its exfoliating and anti-oxidant properties. “Mumtaz’s Journey” there won the most luxurious spa treatment award. The Kaya Kalp is no stranger to highly coveted awards. In 2008, it won the “Tatler Award” for best city spa in the world.
Some of the other acclaimed spas which did not feature in the list of awardees include The NeoVeda Spa at The Metropolitan Hotel and Spazzo at the Crowne Plaza Today at Okhla.
The NeoVeda Spa at The Metropolitan Hotel and Spa in New Delhi is an ayurveda style spa for the 21 century. It provides an exceptional experience with the power of ayurveda to heal, restore, relax and invigorate. NeoVeda has a plethora of signature experiences to choose from.

ollywood actor and Trinamool Congress MLA Debasree Roy seeks the blessings of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during a National Rural Livelihoods Mission programme in Kolkata

KOLKATA
(IANS) Many women saw themselves in her. Trinamool Congress firebrand Mamata Banerjee, always clad in a simple cotton sari and slippers, gave rise to huge hopes when she took charge of West Bengal a year ago.
But incidents of crime against women increasingly highlighted by the media in the past one year of her rule as well as Banerjee’s casual response has many women questioning her priorities.
As in other states, crime against women was a problem in Bengal too though Kolkata was considered relatively safer as compared to other metropolises. But it is the off-the-cuff remarks by Banerjee, a single woman with no family of her own, that have drawn the most flak.
The frequently reported instances of rape in the state had the National Commission for Women (NCW) come calling to Kolkata to meet Banerjee.
It sent a missive to the government after a study pointed out that West Bengal recorded the second highest number of rape cases in the country and the rate of increase in the reported cases was twice the national average the past year.
Banerjee’s description of two rapes — on Park Street in Kolkata and at Katwa in Burdwan — as “fabricated” shocked many, said activist Anuradha Talwar, who was Banerjee’s comrade in the campaign against Tata’s Nano plant in Singur.
At the height of the movement, Tapasi, a teenager, was allegedly raped and murdered within the fenced-up Tata Motors site in 2006. The Trinamool chief had then stood rock solid by the victim’s family and pointed fingers at the Marxists for the crime.
Her reaction was quite in contrast after coming to power. Banerjee got flak for dismissing the Park Street rape when a victim was an Anglo-Indian woman. In Burdwan, one woman was raped earlier this year.
The chief minister ate her words after police arrested the alleged offenders.
The Park Street victim, who earlier accused the administration of being insensitive, however, praised Banerjee.
“I have been getting a lot of help from the government. I think she is doing a good job as a woman administrator,” the victim told IANS although she kept mum when asked if the city was safer for women.
Calcutta University professor Ishita Mukherjee said: “Forget about our expectations, she has not even been able to provide minimum security to women.
The report by NCW claimed that the rape victims included girls from the age of seven to women of 72 years.
Many working women now fear staying outside their homes late at night.
Banerjee also seems to have lost some of her appeal as a mass leader.
“We thought she was one of us. We believed in her promise of ‘parivartan’ (change). But it seems she is like all other politicians who make hollow promises,” said domestic maid Lakshmi Maa.
Some feel the feisty leader deserves more time.
“She has initiated many welfare schemes. Moreover, a year is too short a time to evaluate,” said professor Bonita Alleaz of Calcutta University.
Well known social activist Medha Patkar said: “Expectations from her are very high. Hope she can deliver.”