Chinese Soldier on Indian Soil

At least 37 incursions of Chinese forces have been reported during the last five years in Uttarakhand, which has a 350 kilometer long border with China, chief minister Vijay Bahuguna said on Monday.

Speaking at the chief ministers’ conference on internal security, the newly-elected chief minister of Uttarakhand, Bahuguna said Chinese are disputing Indian territorial claims regarding Barahoti in Chamoli district.

“There have been several reported incursions by Chinese patrol parties into Indian territory in this area: six times in 2006, twice in 2007, ten times in 2008, eleven times in 2009, five times in 2010 and thrice in 2011,” he said.

Underlining the importance of a potent road network in the border areas, Bahuguna said the Centre has sanctioned 12 strategic roads in border areas but the progress has been slow owing to forest clearances.

“Expediting the construction of border roads and tracks is crucial especially in view of the modern highways constructed by China right upto the international border with India,” he said.

Bahuguna also raised concerns about the threat posed by the Moists in Nepal who have declared Kalapani in Pithoragarh district to be a Nepalese territory and repeatedly threatening to march to it.

“A frontal organisation of the Nepalese Maoists, the Young Communist League (YCL), is very active in the Nepalese province of Mahakali Anchal, which has borders with Uttarakhand,” the chief minister said.

The chief minister said intelligence inputs indicate that CPI Maoists have designs to deploy People’s Liberation Guerilla Army cadres in Uttarakhad and intensify their tactical counter-offensive campaign in order to push the state into the “fourth stage” of the revolutionary movement.

Himachal Chief Minister P K Dhumal had accused the UPA government last month for not taking a serious notice of Chinese interference along the Tibet border and cautioned that ignoring these “warning signals” could land the country into serious trouble.

“China is sometime violating the airspace, objecting to road constructions in Leh, building ultramodern airfields in Tibet and extending the railway line upto Tibet border” but the Indian government was conveniently ignoring these warnings, the BJP chief minister said.

He was replying to a calling attention motion in the state Assembly on “violation of Indian airspace by two Chinese helicopters along Himachal border”.

“We could not perceive the Chinese threat in 1962 as we were enamoured by ‘Hindi- Chini, Bhai Bhai’ and now again, China is strengthening its borders and we must take it seriously,” he said.

Attacking China for violation of Indian airspace over Himachal border, Dhumal said that the government has allocated a piece of land to the Indian Air Force (IAF) for installation of a radar to monitor the air space. “The IAF approached the government and a land has been provided to it,” he said.

The calling attention was moved by BJP member Ram Lal Markandey, who cited news reports regarding intrusion of two Chinese helicopters into Indian Airspace. The helicopters were spotted by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) on March 16 over Kaurik, close to the international border, about 330 km from state capital Shimla in tribal Spiti Valley.
China has been complaining and objecting to anything being done by India on the border and even opposed visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Arunachal Pradesh and movement of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama even within India, Dhumal said.

“There have been reports about China strengthening the infrastructure being created by China on its side of the border and even China has installed missiles that could target any Indian city in Tibet .
“I have apprised the government of India in this regard a number of times and requested them to strengthen the infrastructure along the Indian border and take necessary measures to safeguard the state,” Dhumal said.

He said even Chinese aircraft, after intruding into Indian airspace from Himachal from one side, cross Indian border within 15-20 minutes and land in Pakistan and described it as a serious issue and needs attention of Union government.

SOURCE : PTI

The Terrorist Who Takes Indian Lives, Then Indian Money!

  The money spent on the cold-blooded murderer is making news yet again. The Maharashtra Government has spent over a massive 25 crore for guarding 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab, ever since he was captured in 2008. But, now the Maharashtra Government has refused to bear the cost all by itself.

Maharashtra government has refused to foot the 19.28 crore bill sent by ITBP towards reimbursing expenses for guarding Kasab lodged in the Arthur Road jail here and wants Centre to waive the amount. Home Minister R R Patil today said the state government has requested Centre to waive the 19.28 crore bill sent to it by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), a central para military force.

“What Kasab and his associates did is an attack not only on Mumbai but an attack on India and it is unfair to ask the state government alone to bear the burden,” Patil told the Legislative Council. He was replying to a query raised by Shiv Sena member Ramdas Kadam during a discussion on calling attention motion.

The Home Minister said the state government has been making payments towards food and medical care of Kasab, besides the salaries of the state policemen guarding him. “Rs 5.25 crore was spent on the foolproof jail structure where the Pakistani terrorist is lodged. Apart from it, the government has spent Rs 34,975 on food, Rs 28,066 on medical facility, Rs 1.22 crore on the salary disbursed to the policemen guarding the jail where Kasab is kept,” Patil said.

The ITPB was deployed in the jail in the run-up to the 26/11 trial, held in a special sessions court set up in the jail premises. In 2010, the home department sought an extension for the deployment of the ITBP which comprised around 200 commandos, armed with sophisticated weaponry and communication equipment, for guarding 24×7 the lone surviving Pakistani gunman in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.

(With inputs from PTI)

Maharashtra has spent Rs 16 crore on Kasab so far

Ajmal Amir Kasab, the Pakistani gunman who unleashed terror in the city along with his nine associates, is still bleeding state coffers three years after he killed more than 100 people on November 26, 2008.

The state home department has since spent Rs 16.17 crore on accommodating the terrorist at the Arthur Road jail, including constructing a special cell, deploying forces from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and on his safety, food and medical treatment.

The expenditure does not include legal fees paid to the special public prosecutor and his team. The state is taking a stock of Kasab’s expenses in the wake of the third anniversary of the 26/11 attacks.

“So far, there are no changes in the way we are going to treat him in the future. We continue to spend on Kasab since his security is a prime concern. To ensure adequate healthcare, we incurred a treatment cost of Rs 26,953 since 2008,” said an official from the state home department.

Ten terrorists had attacked various locations in the city on 26/11, killing more than 100 people and injuring several more. While Kasab was caught alive, the others were gunned down by the police. After the trial in a special court, sessions court judge M L Tahilyani sentenced Kasab to death. The order was upheld by the high court on February 21, 2011. Since then, the state has been ensuring that in the process of giving him a fair trial, Kasab gets food, accommodation and adequate medical facility.

So far, Rs 5.29 crore has been spent on setting up a special cell for Kasab, who was shifted into it after state authorities found existing safety arrangements within the prison inadequate for a high-profile criminal. The expenditure on the deployment of ITBP has been Rs 10.87 crore; another Rs 27,520 has been spent on food and Rs 26,953 on medicines. “The cost of food has been steadily rising but we are able to keep it roughly about Rs 25 per day,” said the official.

5.3 crore spent on Kasab’s special cell

Ten terrorists had attacked various locations in the city on 26/11, killing more than 100 people and injuring several more. While Kasab was caught alive, the others were gunned down by the police. After the trial in a special court, sessions court judge M L Tahilyani sentenced Kasab to death.

The order was upheld by the high court on February 21, 2011. Since then, the state has been ensuring that in the process of giving him a fair trial, Kasab gets food, accommodation and adequate medical facility.

So far, Rs 5.29 crore has been spent on setting up a special cell for Kasab. The expenditure on the deployment of ITBP has been Rs 10.87 crore; Rs 27,520 has been spent on food and Rs 26,953 on medicines. “The cost of food has been steadily rising but we are able to keep it roughly about Rs 25 per day,” said the official.

Upkeep Monitor

Total state spend on Kasab

* Rs 5.29 crore on constructing a special cell

* Rs 10.87 crore on deploying forces from the Indo-Tibetan Border Police

* Rs 27,520 on food

* Rs 26,953 on medicines

Related articles

• Kasab Should Be Hanged: Rehman Malik (ktrmurali.wordpress.com)
• Singh-Gilani Declare ‘New Chapter’ in Ties (ktrmurali.wordpress.com)