E XC LU S I V E PA R T N E R
BUSINESS
US for UN panel on Burma war crimes
Likely to clamp more financial sanctions
against the authoritarian regime
New Delhi / METRO ■ Vol. LXXXVI No. 197
NIFTY 5,479.2 +65.0
delhi first
FORBIDDEN CITY
Drive to make Delhi a ‘blooming
city’ has been adversely hit by
lack of skilled workers and the
monsoon mess. >> P2
big picture
It is heartening that the
government has woken
up to the perils of illegal
mining, which
can strike at the
base of the state.
>> P11
short
stories
Singh: Loved by other leaders
PM ‘NUMBER 1’
WORLD LEADER
NEW YORK: Described as
“the leader other leaders
love”, Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh has
topped Newsweek maga-
zine’s list of 10 world lead-
ers. India, however, stands
at 78th place in the list of
100-best countries. Accor-
ding to Newsweek, Singh’s
unassuming personal style
inspires awe among fellow
global luminaries. P9
Cong, BJP face flak
over N-liabilities Bill
NEW DELHI: Non-BJP opposi-
tion parties stalled Parlia-
ment on Wednesday, alleg-
ing a deal between the
Congress and the BJP for a
smooth passage of the nuc-
lear liabilities bill in return
for letting Narendra Modi
off the hook in Sohrabuddin
fake encounter case. P9
>> DEAL BEHIND BILL, P11
Geelani’s grandson
in jail since July 31
SRINAGAR: Ahtisham ul haq
Geelani (23), the grandson
of Kashmiri separatist
leader S.A.S. Geelani, has
been in jail since July 31 on
charges of stone throwing
and attempted murder. P8
comment
ALL MINE, NOT OURS
Vedanta may have
been stopped in its
tracks. But mining
companies routinely
flout the law. >> P10
weather
today
HIGH32°C HOTTEST IN INDIA
NAGAPATTINAM 37°C
LOW 26°C
COLDEST IN INDIA
CHUSHUL 01°C
FORECAST: Moderate rain with isolated
heavy falls are expected over the capital.
The morning will be cool and breezy.
India weather report, P 6
TODAY: 34 pages, including 10 pages
of HT City. (Areas specific Lives and
add-on supplement pages are extra).
> P17
■ R 3.00 / Price along with Hindustan R 6.00 / Price along with Mint R 5.50
SENSEX 18,257.1 +208.3
Top PSUs withdraw Azad
Mamata sticks to her
stand on Naxals
Games sponsorship
SETBACK Official power partner NTPC worried over negative
publicity; Power Grid Corp also backs out of earlier commitment
SPECIAL
Utpal Bhaskar
■ utpal@livemint.com
NEW DELHI: In further embar-
rassment for the Commonwealth
Games (CWG) organisers, the
board of NTPC Ltd has decid-
ed to sever all ties with the event.
NTPC, India’s largest power
generation utility, has also sought
an audit by a government agency
of the R20 crore it has already
paid as sponsorship fees.
Another PSU, Power Grid
Corporation of India (PGCIL),
has also decided to withhold
the R10 crore sponsorship it had
promised.
NTPC, official power part-
ner of the Games, is concerned
that the negative publicity the
Games have garnered follow-
ing allegations of widespread
graft will hurt its brand image.
Mint reported on August 6
that NTPC intended to drop
the idea of using the event logo
in all its correspondence for this
reason.
The R20 crore already paid
was part of a total Rs 50 crore
commitment NTPC had made
to the country’s biggest sport-
ing event in 28 years.
“Our board met yesterday
and we have decided not to give
the remaining money to them,”
said Chairman and Managing
Director R.S. Sharma on
Wednesday. “The Games logo
stands dropped from all our
communication. We need an
audited account of the R20 crore
we gave them to show us how
the money was spent.”
The CWG organising com-
mittee had submitted a “writ-
ten commitment” stating
Girls’ road race
leaves two dead
RASH 19-yr-old hits motorcycle on Chandigarh road, out on bail
HTC and agencies
■ letters@hindustantimes.com
CHANDIGARH: A 19-year-old US-
based girl at the wheel of a
Honda Accord, racing recklessly
with another car on Tuesday
night, allegedly rammed into a
motorcycle killing both its rid-
ers, police said.
Sukhmani Brar ‘Amanat’,
who had been absconding since
the accident, surrendered to the
police on Wednesday. She has
been charged with causing the
deaths due to rash and negli-
gent driving. She was produced
in court and granted bail after
a medical examination.
The crash occurred at around
7.30 p.m. near the upscale
Chandigarh Club in Sector 3.
Motorcycle rider Sukhwinder
D O U B L E L I F E
Koda: Parliament by day, Tihar by night
Abhishek Sharan
■ abhishek.sharan@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: At 6 a.m. daily, clad
in his white kurta pyjama, the
39-year-old steps out of his 12-
by-10 square feet room to stand
in queue and be counted with
the rest of the prisoners at a
Tihar jail ward.
■ Koda: Jail, House bloke
Three hours later, Madhu
Koda, former Jharkhand Chief
Minister, is attending Parlia-
ment. Member of Parliament
from Chaibasa, he is in jail fac-
ing charges in one of the biggest
scams in the country. His day is
divided into two equal but con-
trasting halves.
When Koda leaves Tihar jail
at nine in the morning, he is
HT CITY
BOLLYWOOD’S
BUSINESS COUPLE
Saif floats new film company, Kareena on board of directors
DOW JONES 10,405.9 +103.8
■ Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell (fourth from left), on a two-day visit to New
Delhi, leaves after inspecting Thyagraj stadium on Wednesday.
NTPC’s sponsorship amount
will be utilised for the realisa-
tion of the bona fide objectives
of the committee, but Sharma
is unimpressed.
“They gave it in writing. That
doesn’t meet anything. They
will have to submit the audit-
ed accounts,” Sharma said.
PGCIL has also decided not
to part with the Rs10 crore spon-
sorship fee it had promised. “We
have refused to release any
money for the Games,”
Chairman and Managing
Director S.K. Chaturvedi said.
NTPC had hoped to piggy-
back on CWG goodwill to open
up fresh commercial opportu-
nities in member countries by
developing its brand interna-
tionally. But it now fears the
association may do it more harm
than good.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 15
■ Amanat’s Honda Accord
Singh (21), an engineering stu-
dent, and his seven-year-old
cousin Harpreet, who was rid-
ing pillion, were reportedly flung
into the air when the Honda
Accord struck them. While
Harpreet was killed at the spot,
Sukhwinder was rushed to hos-
pital where he died.
frisked by armed sentries of the
Tamil Nadu police posted at the
gates. When he reaches
Parliament, the security at the
gates greets him and lets him
straight through.
When he returns to his ‘home’
around 9 p.m., he is frisked aga-
in. His transport is a highly vis-
ible blue police van, accompa-
nied by three Delhi Armed
NASDAQ 2,209.4 +27.6
WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS
■ NTPC has already paid CWG
organisers R20 crore, part of
R50 crore it had committed as
sponsorship. It has decided not
to give the remaining amount
■ It has demanded an audited
account of the R20 crore paid
■ NTPC will also drop the Games
logo from all its correspondence
■ PGCIL, another sponsor has
also decided not to part with the
R10 crore it had promised
mydelhi
mygames
>> FENNELL VISITS P3
>> LAST MINUTE DASH P19
>> FOREIGN BRANDS FOR GAMES? P19
>> DHINDSA INFLUENCING TRIALS P19
Police said the accident
occurred following a race
between two cars — Amanat
Brar’s Honda and a Maruti Swift
driven by her friends.
Immediately after the crash,
Amanat and her female com-
panion in the car jumped into
the Maruti Swift they were rac-
ing, and sped away.
A student in a US college,
Amanat was in Chandigarh on
a visit. Police claim she had run
away to Delhi, but following con-
certed pressure they exerted on
her family, she returned and sur-
rendered.
Was she drunk when the cr-
ash occurred? Police were not
sure since she surrendered a
day later. Harsimar, her friend
who was in the car at the time
of the accident, is absconding.
Police escorts, that takes him
right up to Parliament House.
After striding through the air-
conditioned corridors of power
during the day, Koda returns to
Ward No. 9 of Sub-Jail No. 1 and
sleeps, without a pillow, on the
damp floor of his cell at night.
Sources in Tihar say Koda leads
a rule-bound, peaceful life in his
solitary cell which has an
attached bathroom, a toilet and
a small television set.
He had moved the Jharkhand
High Court to get permission to
attend Parliament.
“He participated enthusias-
tically in the Independence Day
celebrations, though he doesn’t
mix much with other inmates,”
said the source.
SPORT
IPOs RETAIL SMITH TO SKIP
CAP TO RISE T20 CAPTAINCY
SEBI proposes to South African cricket captain says he will also
double investment step down as ODI skipper after World Cup> P18
limit to R2 lakh > P21
hindustantimes.com
THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 2010
RUPEE/$ 46.5 +0.1 RUPEE/EURO 59.9 +0.2 GOLD/10G 18,900 0.0 SILVER/K 29,800 +50.0
HT Correspondent enquiry, Mamata appeared to problems.
■ letters@hindustantimes.com be endorsing the Maoist charge. But Mamata said that while
Mamata’s Lalgarh speech the Maoist offer of dialogue with
KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress
chief Mamata Banerjee on
Wednesday refused to retract
thus caused a major stir in
Parliament, with Bharatiya
Janata Party (BJP) members
the government was welcome,
she herself was unwilling to be
a mediator.
her statement made at the attacking her strongly for her “I won’t interfere with the
August 9 Lalgarh rally, where seeming collusion with Maoists. government initiative,” she said.
she had demanded an enquiry Breaking her silence on the The CPI(M) too reacted
into the police encounter that subject for the first time adversely to the Maoists’ sug-
killed Maoist leader Azad. Mamata said, “Whatever I said, gestion that Mamata mediate.
Maoists have been alleging I stick to that. I said that in “It has been proved that the
that Azad, alias Cherukuri capacity of a political leader.” Maoists and Mamata are work-
Rajkumar, who was killed by the
Andhra Pradesh Police in
On Tuesday evening, Maoist
leader Koteshwar Rao, alias
ing together. How can a collab-
orator be a mediator,” CPI(M)
Adilabad on July 2 following an Kishenji, had through the media Rajya Sabha MP Sitaram
armed encounter, had actually proposed peace talks with the Yechury said.
been captured by the police ear- government, even suggesting >> NAC MEMBER TRASHES
lier and shot in cold blood. that if Mamata brokered the CENTRE'S TRIBAL POLICY, P8
With her demand for an talks, his party would have no >> AGNIVESH FLAYS OFFER, P8
Congo rebels kill
LANDSLIDE HITS
UTTARAKHAND
3 Indian soldiers
SCHOOL, 18 DIE
HT Correspondent
■ letters@hindustantimes.com
Ubangi
SUDAN
Hautuele HT Correspondent
■ letters@hindustantimes.com
SONU MEHTA / HT PHOTO NEW DELHI: Armed guerrillas DR Congo
attacked a heavily fortified DEHRADUN: A massive landslide,
SHEILA NERVOUS
Kirumba,
Indian Army base in the triggered by a heavy monsoon
Democratic Republic of Congo Kinshasa
north Kivu South
Kivu downpour, demolished a school
Kasai
With many key Commonwealth in the dead of night on Tuesday, Oriental building in Uttarakhand’s
Games projects yet to be killing three Indian peacekeepers Bageshwar district, killing at
Katanga
completed, Delhi chief minis- and injuring seven others. least 18 children on Wednesday.
ZAMBIA
ter Sheila Dikshit said on The army said fighters belong- The Shishu Mandir School
ANGOLA
Wednesday that she was still ing to a fringe rebel group, Mai building in Sungarh village,
“nervous” about the prepara- Mai, may have carried out the around 500 km from Dehradun,
tions. “It is normal to be nerv- brazen assault — one of the The rebels attacked the sol- collapsed around 9 am, trap-
ous till completion of all the worst attacks on Indian peace- diers from 19 Kumaon with auto- ping children under the debris.
works related to the event,” keepers serving the UN’s peace- matic weapons, machetes (large “Eighteen children are con-
Dikshit said. PTI keeping mission in Congo. knifes) and spears. The casu- firmed dead. Seven others were
An army spokesperson said alties could have higher had the rescued with minor injuries,”
ROADS CAVE IN five Congolese civilians approa-
ched the Kirumba outpost, some
rebels breached the outer gate
of the camp.
said Piyush Rautela, Executive
Director, Disaster Management
There’s just 45 days to go for 150 km from the Indian brigade’s The attackers retreated and and Mitigation Centre.
the Commonwealth Games, but headquarters in Goma, seek- vanished into the jungles in the The children were studying
Delhi’s roads have still not
shaped up to the mark. On
ing assistance.
“While they engaged the
shadows of the Virunga
Mountains after Indian soldiers
in Classes I, II and III.
“Rescue operations are ham-
Wednesday three more roads guard in conversation, a group launched a counter-assault. pered due to bad weather,” said
caved in — after just 1.3 of 50-60 rebels attacked the More than 4,500 Indian sol- Kunal Sharma, Commissioner,
millimetres of rain — raising post from the surrounding jun- diers are part of the Congo mis- Kumaon. The Met department
the number of roads crumbling gle,” an army spokesperson said. sion, the UN’s costliest so far had warned of heavy rainfall.
in the Capital in a month to The attack took place at around with an annual budget of over More rain is predicted in the
nine. >> P4 1.50 am local time (5.20 am IST). US $1.3 billion (R 5,850 crore). next 48 hours.
CHIEF SATYAM
SCAMSTER RAJU
GETS BAIL, CAN’T
LEAVE TOWN
HT Correspondent
■ letters@hindustantimes.com
HYDERABAD: The Andhra High
Court granted bail to Satyam
Computer founder B. Ramalinga
Raju, chief accused in perhaps
the biggest scam in India’s cor-
porate history, on Wednesday.
Justice Raja Elango granted
bail on the plea of Raju’s failing
health despite a CBI plea that
he might try to influence the
250-odd witnesses in the case.
Elango, however, directed
Raju — accused of criminal con-
spiracy, breach of trust, cheat-
ing and forgery — not to leave
Hyderabad and provide two
sureties of R20 lakh each.
The volume of the fraud has
not been officially quantified
yet. Corporate Affairs Minis-
ter Khurshid Alam recently said
the amount would be known
after CBI completed the probe.
Raju was arrested on January
7, 2009 after he admitted his
guilt in a letter to the compa-
ny’s board. The company has
since been taken over by the
Mahindra group and renamed
Mahindra Satyam.
Of his 19-month judicial cus-
tody, Raju spent hardly eight
months in jail, before he was
shifted to Nizam’s Institute of
Medical Sciences (NIMS) in
September last year. He is being
treated for Hepatitis-C.
On whether, having obtained
bail, Raju was likely to move
out of the hospital to his luxu-
rious bungalow, his lawyer
Bharat Kumar said, “It’s for his
family to take a call.”
An NIMS doctors said Raju
was indeed seriously ill and if
the treatment failed, he could
contract liver cirrhosis.
The CBI has decided to
approach the Supreme Court
against the high court order.