At 75, she wants her dowry back

Patna:  Married at the age of 15, widowed and left in the lurch at the age of 65, Satyavati Devi's life is one of penury at the ripe age of 75 years. Now she has sought the 220 grams of gold and Rs. 7,000 that her parents gave to her in-laws at the time of her marriage. Satyavati Devi, a resident of Bihar's Nalanda district, has urged District Magistrate Sanjay Agrawal to help her get back the dowry.

"Satyavati Devi approached me seeking return of dowry from her in-laws who left her in the lurch and are enjoying their lives," Agrawal told IANS over phone.

According to Satyavati Devi, after her husband died, her brothers-in-law and other family members forcibly took over her assets. Ever since that, she has been living in poverty. She lost one of her two sons due to lack of proper medical treatment, and even her other son is physically unfit to earn livelihood.

She claims that her parents had given Rs. 7, 000, 220 grams of gold and other expensive items as dowry in her marriage to Jitendra Singh.

"My financial condition is very poor, I along with my son and his family are struggling for survival. In view of this, I urge you to help me get back my dowry money with interest," Satyavati mentioned in her petition to Agrawal.

Agrawal said that he has forwarded her petition to family helpline and other officials.

Dara Singh encounter case: CBI names minister in Raje government

Jaipur:  The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has presented the chargesheet in the Dara Singh fake encounter case.

 
It names a former minister in the Vasundhara Raje government Rajendra Rathore as an accused.

"The name of former Minister of Rajasthan has been mentioned in the charge sheet but not as an accused. His role is still under investigation," CBI sources said.
    
Dara Singh, a known criminal in his area and part of the liquor mafia was killed in a police encounter in October 2006 in Jaipur.

Later, his family alleged that the encounter was staged. On their plea, the Supreme Court handed over the case to the CBI in April 2010.

The CBI has already arrested four police officials in connection with

Jayalalithaa stops Karunanidhi's projects

Chennai:  DMK today put up a brave face over Jayalalithaa government's decision to set up a commission of inquiry into alleged irregularities in construction of the Rs. 1000 crore new Legislative Assembly complex, saying facing such commissions was not new to the party.

"DMK has seen and faced many inquiry commissions. We are not bothered about this one and we are ready to face it," party's Legislature Leader and former Deputy Chief Minister, M K Stalin told reporters.

The AIADMK government has announced a Commission of Inquiry under a retired High Court judge, saying, "There have been allegations of excess and wasteful expenditure and deficiency in the standards of new Secretariat building."

The Commission would "inquire into the alleged irregularities like excess expenditure, inordinate delay and deficiency in standards of construction," Governor SS Barnala had said in his address to the Legislative Assembly today while outlining the policies of the AIADMK.

The previous DMK government had held the last session in the new complex, a pet project of party chief Karunanidhi.

It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the presence of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi last year.

Jayalalithaa had earlier flayed the lack of aesthetic appeal and the design of the new complex describing it as a "circus tent".

She had justified the decision to stick to the 17th century Fort St George building citing administrative considerations and denied any political bias.

This couple jailed, abused girl for 18 years

Placerville, California:  A California couple was jailed for life on Thursday for kidnapping a schoolgirl and sexually abusing her for 18 years, an ordeal which the victim said "stole my life."
          
In an emotional statement read out in court by her mother, Jaycee Dugard said she "hated every second" of her abuse at the hands of Phillip and Nancy Garrido, telling them: "There is no God in the universe that would condone your actions."
          
"To you, Phillip, I say that I have always been a thing for your own amusement. I hated every second of every day of 18 years because of you and the sexual perversion you forced on me," she said.
          
"As I think of all of those years, I am angry because you stole my life and that of my family. Thankfully I am doing well now and no longer live in a nightmare," Dugard added, in the statement read in court by her mother.

          
Phillip Garrido, who fathered two children with Dugard after kidnapping her aged 11 in 1991, was given 431 years, while his wife was jailed for between 36 years and life, after a plea bargain.
          
Nancy Garrido's lawyer, Stephen Tapson, said he read a statement to the court on behalf of his client, acknowledging that "what she did was evil," that she was sorry and that "words are not enough."
          
Tapson, who said Nancy Garrido would have to serve at least 20 years, added that he had asked that Nancy be allowed to see her husband one last time before they start their sentences, but the request was denied.

 

US to consider giving India further access to Headley

Washington:  The US would consider giving India access to David Headley, who has confessed to his involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks, for additional questioning by its investigating agencies, the State Department has said.

"In the past we've given India full access to Headley, and I think that when a case is in litigation it's impossible to do that. But moving forward, I think we would look for... or consider further access," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said at his daily news conference.

Headley, a Pakistani-American LeT operative, has completed his testimony before a Chicago court conducting the trial of his childhood friend Tahawwur Rana, another key accused in the Mumbai attacks.

Headley has pleaded guilty to 12 terrorism charges related to Mumbai attacks and other plots in the wake of his 2009 arrest in the US.

However, Rana, a Pakistani-Canadian, has maintained that he is not guilty in the charge of "support to terrorism".

During Rana's trial, Headley testified that he had conducted a surveillance of the German Bakery in Pune and identified Chabad houses in Delhi, Pushkar and Pune as potential bombing targets.