Nearly one-and-a-half years after the Gyaneswari Express carnage, one of three prime accused in the case, Asit Mahato, was arrested by the joint security forces in Jangalmahal on Sunday afternoon. The 36-year-old “wanted” leader of the Maoist-backed tribal outfit People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCPA) was caught from a house at Gorapeta village in Salboni of West Midnapore. The joint forces had raided the house after receiving a specific tip-off that he had taken shelter there.
Superintendent of police (West Midnapore) P.K. Tripathy said, “The house belonged to his relative. Asit was hiding there for the last 20 days. For the past one year, he had been taking shelter at his relatives’ houses in Purnapani, Tarki and Karamshole in the district.” Asit will be produced at the Jhargram court on Monday. There are around 13 cases on charges of sedition, attacking the police, arson and looting against him at the Lalgarh and Salboni police stations, Mr Tripathy informed. “We have already intimated the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) about his arrest as he was named as a suspect in the Gyaneswari Express carnage. The agency may question him,” he added.
Asit was evading arrest since the carnage, masterminded and executed by the PCPA, on May 28, 2010, killing nearly 148 passengers. The CBI which probed the train derailment had even announced a cash reward of `1 lakh for information leading to the arrest of Asit on June 17, 2010.
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IAC THREATENS OF STIR IF LOKPAL BILL Is NOT PASSED
Akshaya Kumar Sahoo
Bhubaneswar, Nov. 13
India Against Corruption (IAC), Orissa chapter, on Sunday said it would launch a massive, mass mobilization programme across the state if Parliament does not pass a strong Jan Lokpal Bill in the coming Winter Session of the Assembly.
Addressing a press conference on the concluding day of their 34-day All-Orissa Jana Sampark Yatra, IAC Orissa representatives said they expected that the members of the Parliament would whole-heartedly support Jan Lokpal Bill as advocated by Team Anna Hazare to curb corruptions from each branch of the administration and contribute to building a new nation of honesty and integrity.
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‘FERTILIsER PRICE RISE DUE TO GLOBAL TRENDS’
AGE CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi, 13
Union chemicals and fertilizers minister Mr M.K. Azhagiri on Sunday attributed the rising prices of phospatic and potassic fertilizer to the current trends in the international scenario even as he hoped that the prices would come down soon.
According to a press release issued by his office here, Mr Azhagiri sounding confident that the prices would be reduced at the earliest, has said that he intends to meet Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh over the issue.