Phoolan Devi shot dead
The Samajwadi Party Member of Parliament and
former ``bandit queen'', Ms. Phoolan Devi, was shot dead by three
car-borne assailants outside her 44 Ashoka Road residence, a
stone's throw from Parliament House, here this afternoon.
President, PM condole death
The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee,
today condoled the death of Ms. Phoolan Devi. Condemning the
criminal act, he urged all sections of the polity to stand united
in the fight against criminalisation of politics.
A political conspiracy, says SP
Parliament was adjourned for the day after
lunch on Wednesday as a mark of respect to the Samajwadi Party
member of the Lok Sabha, Ms. Phoolan Devi, who was shot dead by
unidentified gunmen at her Ashoka Road residence earlier.
Centre willing to give 'special powers' to J&K
The Centre today announced its willingness to
grant ``special powers'' to Jammu and Kashmir, if needed, but
ruled out accepting the J&K autonomy resolution.
Top Hizb leader killed
In a major setback to the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
militant organisation, its deputy chief commander and spokesman,
Abdul Hamid Tantray alias `commander Masood', was killed in an
`encounter' with the special operations group (SOG) of the Jammu
and Kashmir Police in Pulwama district on Tuesday night.
PMK returns to NDA
Five months after it quit the ruling
combination at the Centre, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) today
returned to the National Democratic Alliance. The return of the
PMK which has five MPs in the Lok Sabha was announced by the NDA
convenor, Mr. George Fernandes, here this evening after the PMK
chief, Dr. S. Ramadoss, and the MPs called on the Prime Minister,
Mr. A.B. Vajpayee.
Govt. notice to Hinduja group
The Government today issued notices to the
Hinduja group and Sterlite Industries to show cause why they
should not be disqualified from bidding for public sector equity.
This is aimed at keeping out charge-sheeted or debarred companies
from the disinvestment exercise.
Cyber Space chief held
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today
arrested Mr. Arvind Johari, the proprietor of the Lucknow-based
Cyber Space Infosys Limited for his alleged role in the Unit
Trust of India's Rs. 32-crore Cyber Space private placement scam.
President indisposed
The President, Mr. K.R. Narayanan, who has
been indisposed due to viral infection, was admitted to the Army
Research and Referral Hospital. All his engagements for the next
couple of days have been cancelled.
Security was adequate: Govt.
The Centre today said the security provided
to Ms. Phoolan Devi was not scaled down and was ``commensurate
with the threat perception to her security''.
