NEW DELHI, Dec 7 (UNI): The mysterious intrusion in the naval chief's house on December 1 was a story fabricated by a 'depressed' naval commando who wanted to commit suicide, the Indian navy said today.
"During the investigation by the naval board of inquiry, the security guard, who is at present hospitalised with bullet injury in his thigh, has amended his statement on the alleged shoot out with an intruder on December 1 at 12 Rajaji Marg", a release said.
The story that a gun-weilding man stole into Admiral Sushil Kumar's house in the dead of the night, opened fire when challenged and managed to escape despite the security the security personnel firing 20 shots did not go down too well with the crime branch of the Delhi police whichpikcked several holes in the navy's statement.
Today, the mystery deepened even further with the security guard Satbir Singh saying that he was under severe depression because of an ongoing family feud and that he had decided to commit suicide.
However, to guard his family interests, Satbir Singh said the fabricated the story about an intrusion.
Police sources wondered why the man had shot himself in the thigh if he had wanted to commit suicide.
Delhi police had even gone to the extent of stating that it did not rule out a connection between the 'intrusion' and the navy day reception hosted by Admiral Sushil Kumar on December 4 which was attended by the president and prime minister besides several other dignitaries.
A piece of cordex wire had led the police to believe that there might be a link.
Yesterday, Delhi Police Commissioner Ajai Raj Sharma said that police had found discrepancies in the statement of the injured naval commando and his force was close to solving the case.
Satbir Singh had in his preliminary statement told the police that an unindentified person had intruded into the 12, Rajaji Marg residence early on December one and fled after firing at him.
He had also said that he fired 20 rounds, but none of them hit the mysterious intruder.
The mystery in the case deepened as the police recovered 23 used cartridges from the naval chiefs premises, three more than what was stated by the commando.
Besides, all the used bullets appear to be of the same make and appear to have been fired from the same weapon.
Mr Sharma said a security person, whether from the navy, army or police, was required to account for the cartridges used by them.
Either he has to say that he used those or lost some of them.
This has to be explained, he said.
Explaining the seizure of the bullets a day after the naval day reception at the premises the police chief said the methods used as part of the security drill whether mechanised or through sniffer dogs are to detect explosives.
"It is always not possible to detect these small bullets during these security searches.
The bullets were found only when the police personnel were looking for the cartridges which had allegedly injured the naval commando.
The area from where the three bullets were recovered was the same from which the previous 20 bullets were seized.
Postal employees stir sees to signs of easing off, services hit NEW DELHI, Dec 7 (UNI): Thousands of agitating postal employees were stopped from going to the parliament but instead staged massive demonstrations nearby even as federation leaders handed over their charter of demands to the prime minister as the indefinite postal strike saw no signs of abating on the third day today.
"The strike has virtually paralysed the entire mail service in the country and the government's so called skeletal service is not working," Chandran Pillai, General Secretary, National Federation of Postal Employees (NFPE), one of the largest of the three key federations told UNI.
Mr Pillai said no communication from the government has been received so far for conciliatory talks.
Meanwhile, federations leader belonging to NFPE, Federation of National Postal Organisations (FNPO) and Bharatiya Postal Empoyees to hand over their charger of demands.
The unions are on an indefinite strike to push for higher wages and full benefits and pensions for 3,00,00 part-time members.
They also want a large number of vacant posts to be filled.
The strike enterd the third day as talks between communications minister Ram Vilas Paswan and leaders of the Postal Federations failed last evening.
The Federations have under them 22 unions who constitute six lakh workers country-wide.
The three hour talks between Federation leaders and Mr Paswan failed to yield any results as the minister said the issue of paying more money to postal employees will run into legal problems.
"That woule mean other government departments will also seek higher wages.
This is a legal issue and I shall talk with the law minister", the minister said after the talks were over here last evening.
Both Houses of Parliament adjourned amid furore as opposition demands Vajpayee's apology for Ayodhya remarks New Delhi, Dec 7 (NNN) : An angry opposition on Thursday threw both Houses of Parliament into unprecedented turmoil, forcing their adjournment amid uproarious scenes, as it demanded an immediate and unconditional apology from Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for his controversial remarks describing the construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya as an unfinished national agenda.
Tumultuous scenes were witnessed in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, which were adjourned without transaction of any business for the fourth consecutive day over the Ayodhya issue.
Even before the session began this morning, slogan-shouting determined opposition members - from the Congress, the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Muslim League as well as the Left parties - demanding Vajpayees apology and the resignations of the three union ministers chargesheeted in the Babri Masjid demolition case rushed to the well of both the Houses.
There was complete chaos in the Lok Sabha as members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) countered the opposition onslaught with slogans like desh ka neta kaisa ho, Atal Bihari jaisa ho (what kind of leader should the nation have? Like Vajpayee.) To add to the confusion, some members of the Telugu Desam Party, an ally of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), seeking to highlight the plight of farmers in Andhra Pradesh, also rushed to the well of the House.
While Home Minister L.K.
Advani and several senior other ministers were conspicuous by their absence, leader of the opposition, Sonia Gandhi and other senior opposition leaders including Somnath Chatterjee (CPM) and Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP) were on their feet supporting the demand.
Repeated pleas of Speaker G.M.C Balayogi to restore order in the House fell on deaf ears as irate opposition members demanded that Vajpayee come to the House and apologise for his remarks.
As the uproar continued, the Speaker adjourned the House for the day without transacting business.
Similar scenes prevailed in the Rajya Sabha where cries of shame, shame by the opposition members rent the air as Vajpayee arrived in the House.
The BJP members countered with slogans of "prime minister zindabad".
As the opposition showed no signs of relenting, Chairman Krishan Kant adjourned the House for the day almost a minute after it had assembled, In a stunning statement that threatens to revive the ghost of Ayodhya, Vajpayee on Wednesday described the Ram Temple movement as an unfinished national agenda which was an "expression of national feeling" that was yet to be realised.
Sending shock waves among opposition parties as well as several partners of the NDA, Vajpayee categorically rejected the demand for the resignation of the three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers chargesheeted for the demolition of the Babri Masjid, the eighth anniversary of which was observed by a host of organisations and parties on Wednesday as a Black Day.
Vajpayee said, "Ayodhya mein Ram Mandir ka nirman rashtriya bhavana ke prakatikaran ka karan tha, jo abhi tak poora nahin hua (construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya was an expression of national feeling which is yet to be realised)." Flaying as unjustified the Opposition demand for the resignation of Home Minister Advani, Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi and Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Uma Bharati, the prime minister said there was no question of removing them.
In Jaipur, BJP chief Bangaru Laxman ruled out an apology from the party to any community for the demolition of the mosque, saying the "BJP has not committed any mistake, nor has anyone demanded such an apology from the party." About us | Advertisers | Other Publications | Subscriptions | Advertising Weather | Letters | Search | Suggestions | Send Mail | Vaishnodevi ________________________________________________________ (c) 1998, The Kashmir Times Press Pvt.
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