BSF averts tragedy, defuses anti-tank mine along border

From Yahoo.Com

Jammu, May 22 

(PTI) A major tragedy was averted when BSF troops detected and defused an anti-tank mine along Indo-Pak border in Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

During some construction work of a defence structure near the international border in Malu Chak belt, alert BSF troops detected a big anti-tank mine in dugout earth and diffused it, officials said today.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/bsf-averts-tragedy-defuses-anti-tank-mine-along-104300778.html

BSF foils cattle smuggling bid in Dhubri dist, catches two

From The Times Of India

May 22, 2011

GUWAHATI: BSF troops seized 77 cattleheads in Dhubri district and caught two persons while they were trying to smuggle out the animals to Bangladesh on Saturday. BSF officials said a special operation team of the force from its Bansichar border out-post seized the cattle worth Rs 3,56,000. The two were handed over to Dhubri police.

BSF soldiers patrol the border

From Atlantic Council

Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers patrol the border at the India-Pakistan International Border Post.

http://www.acus.org/content/border-security-force-bsf-soldiers-patrol-border-india-pakistan-international-border-post

BSF apprehended 'linkmen' of NDFB (AT)

From The Times Of India

May 19, 2011

The BSF apprehended suspected 'linkmen' of terror outfits NDFB (AT) and Garo National Liberation Council over the last couple of days. "The apprehended persons along with seized items have been handed over to concerned department for legal action," a release issued from the Assam and Meghalaya Frontier Headquarters of the BSF here said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/BSF-arrests/speednewsbytopic/keyid-652541.cms

Pak violates ceasefire for 4th time in a week

From IBN Live
Press Trust Of India
May 19, 2011
Jammu: In the fourth ceasefire violation within a week, Pakistan Rangers targeted Indian positions by opening unprovoked firing along the international border in Jammu sector.

Pakistan rangers opened unprovoked firing from their forward areas of Sailkote district on the Border Out Posts at Kote-Kubba in Jammu's Arnia sub-sector, a senior BSF officer told PTI.

Security breach averted at Attari

From Express News ServiceSuresh SharmaPosted: Fri May 20 2011

A major security breach was averted at the Attari border check post on Thursday when a Honda City car with a red beacon stuck on it nearly drove into Pakistan from the Indian side.

As the car sped towards the gate, Border Security Force (BSF) guards slammed it shut. The two occupants of the car, Satpal Sharma, a driver, and Suresh Sharma, a Railways employee, were immediately taken into custody. No case was registered till the filing of this report.

“Both persons have expressed innocence, however we are investigating the case and they would be handed over to the police,’’ said BSF officials admitting that there was a lapse on their part.

“The car had a beacon and four stars on the number plates. The jawans thought it was a VIP vehicle but they saved the day when it did not stop before the gate,’’ said an officer.

The car crossed the Customs gate and the BSF’s two barriers without being checked. Satpal and Ramesh later told BSF they had come to the border for the first time and were to receive Pakistan’s railway minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour who was arriving on a personal visit.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/security-breach-averted-at-attari/793404/

PIB Release:India ratify UN Conventions against Transnational Organised Crime and Corruption

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of External Affairs

13-May-2011

India has ratified the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its three protocols and the United Nations Convention against Corruption.

The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime is the main international instrument in the fight against transnational organized crime. It recognizes the need to foster and enhance close international cooperation in order to tackle those problems. The convention is further supplemented by three Protocols, which target specific areas and manifestations of organized crime namely Protocols to combat (1) trafficking in persons (2) migrant smuggling and (3) illicit trafficking in firearms.

The United Nations Convention against Corruption complements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime. The Convention introduces a comprehensive set of standards, measures and rules that all countries can apply in order to strengthen their legal and regulatory regimes to fight corruption.

The Convention enumerates in detail the measures to prevent corruption, including the application of prevention policies and practices, the establishment of bodies for that purpose, the application of codes of conduct for public servants, and public procurement. It recommends promoting transparency and accountability in the management of public finances and in the private sector, with tougher accounting and auditing standards. Measures to prevent money-laundering are also provided for, together with measures to secure the independence of the judiciary, public reporting and participation of society are encouraged as preventive measures. The Convention recommends the State Parties to adopt such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish a whole series of criminal offences. These are:

• Corruption of national or f

oreign public officials and officials of public international organizations;

• embezzlement, misappropriation or other diversion by a public official of any public or private property;

• trading in influence;

• abuse of functions and illicit enrichment.

In the private sector, the Convention calls for the creation of offences of embezzlement and corruption. There are other offences relating to laundering the proceeds of crime, handling stolen property, obstructing the administration of justice, and participating in and attempting embezzlement or corruption.

YSK/PM

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=72119

High Court of Delhi directs BSF to convene COI: Writ Petition

New Delhi 

10.5.2011

In an important decision last month the Hon’ble Delhi High Court has directed Border Security Force to convene a Court Of Inquiry in a eleven year old case of an injury sustained by an officer of BSF. The order, whose copies were received last week, directs the Force to order COI within eight weeks of the order dtd 18 April 2011. 

During arguments learned counsel for BSF informed that it may be difficult for a unit officer to affirm or deny nature and other facts of injury. The counsel stated that the correctness of the fact can be ascertained only at a Court Of Inquiry.

Setting aside BSF counsel’s contention that the concerned officer is now medically fit and that some of the witnesses have since retired, the double bench of Hon’ble Mr. Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Suresh Kait directed the respondents to convene a Court of Inquiry with respect to the alleged incident dated 28.09.1999.

The petitioner Raj Kumar Basatta, Second-in-Command in BSF, had claimed to have suffered an injury in an operation against armed militants during Anti-insurgency Operation on 28.09.1999. The petitioner claimed that as a result of the fall he received an injury in the knee and his jaw got fractured.

However, his Deputy Commandant Sh A. Asthana,  considered the injury as a minor injury and accused officer of feigning a serious injury. Sh Asthana further did not report the matter to his Hqrs and did not order the mandatory Court Of Inquiry to find out facts of the injury resulting in delay in treatment and other complications.

Further due to misrepresentation of facts by Sh A Asthana and Sh Sushil Kumar Singh, 2IC, the officer was charge-sheeted for being absent from duty for treatment of his injury and was tried and punished by GSFC in 2001. 

Arguing for the officer Ms Rekha Palli, Advocate pleaded that in the absence of a fact finding Court Of Inquiry the nature of the injury and urgency of treatment could not be considered by his commanding officer and later by Hon'ble GSFC. She further pleaded that though there is permanent deformity in the jaw still its status of having been sustained during an operation is not officially established and this might harm the interests of the officer in future as well.

The Hon’ble Court has directed that the order convening Court of Inquiry would be issued by the competent authority within a period of 8 weeks from the date of judgement.

http://delhihighcourt.nic.in/

PIB Release:Information on Accused Named in Second Charge-Sheet Filed by US Government in 2008 Mumbai Blasts Case

Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Home Affairs

09-May-2011 17:30 IST

A report which appeared in the media today states that the Chicago trial of the 2008 Mumbai attacks will be held from the 16th of this month. The report also states that the federal prosecutors indicted some more suspects last week in this case. Information available with the Government of India on the five persons named as accused in the second charge-sheet filed by the United States Government in the case is given in the annexure.

OK/PKM

* The annexure contains details of five accused

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=72021

Click here to see details:-

Police without own chopper since Jan.

From The Telegraph AMIT GUPTA

Ranchi, May 7: Jharkhand’s saga of grounded choppers continues with the one bought by the state for its police force lying at a hangar in Bangalore with manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd refusing to take up maintenance work. That’s because HAL’s maintenance contract with the government has expired as of February 2011, and HAL has been plagued by problems of its own, including a manpower crunch. Meanwhile, the security forces continue to suffer whenever there is a need to evacuate the injured as was the case in Lohardaga on Tuesday when as many as 11 personnel lost there lives with the DGP, no less, noting that at least six of them could have been saved if a BSF chopper — one of two sent by the Centre to help out in Operation Greenhunt — reached the forest on time (see chart). But, the state police has been without a chopper of its own since January as the lone Dhruv, bought for Rs 45 crore using police modernisation funds in 2007, was lying at HAL’s Bangalore headquarters.

Six out of seven helicopters for anti-Naxal ops unavailable

From The Indian Express
Sun May 08 2011,Raipur
Only one helicopter is catering to over 70,000 central police troops deployed for anti-naxal operations as six other choppers – emergency lifelines during casualty evacuation and reinforcements-- are out of service for various reasons for almost two months.

Government has deployed a fleet of seven helicopters-- four of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and three Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) 'Dhruvs' of the BSF-- for use by 72 battalions of the CRPF, BSF, ITBP and local police units of the states. They have their bases at Raipur (Chhattisgarh) and Ranchi (Jharkhand).

Pak returns Indian intruder

From The Times Of India

Vimal Bhatia, TNN | May 8, 2011

JAISALMER: In a rare case, a man who sneaked into Pakistan from Indian territory through the international border in Sriganganagar on Friday night was handed back to the BSF by Pak Rangerson Saturday. The BSF claimed that the man had been spotted by Indian jawans and fired at, but he succeeded to trespass. Later he was caught by Pak rangers who interrogated him and handed him over to the BSF.