north east online - north east india news: 05/01/2011

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Talks with Gorkhaland leaders on June 6: Mamata

Kolkata, May 31 (ANI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said a meeting of political leaders concerned with Darjeeling Hills would be held on June 6 to resolve the demand for creation of separate hill state.

"A meeting will be held on June 6 between the government officials and concerned political leaders. Once that meeting is held, we will decide when the political process could be started," said Mamata Banerjee.

Meanwhile, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) President Bimal Gurung said that the decision taken in favour of Gorkha people augurs well for the Darjeeling Hills.

"This is a good news for all of us. The hard work, which we have done, has been recognised finally. We have shared our feelings with madam (Mamata Banerjee). So the decision will be taken only after this official meeting, which is going to take place on June 6," said Gurung.
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"I hope everything will go well in near future. We will wait for the decision," he added.

The Gorkha population in West Bengal is estimated to be around a million. Reportedly, the demand for Gorkhaland had been made prior to the India''s independence in 1947.

A renewed demand for a separate Gorkhaland region, which would include Darjeeling and some contiguous areas of Jalpaiguri District, has created fresh turmoil over the past few months.

At the fifth round of tripartite talks in New Delhi, the GJM had agreed to the constitution of an interim council by 2011 prior to the creation of a separate state.

The Gorkha population in West Bengal is estimated to be around a million. (ANI)

No recognition to pvt schools where govt schools exist

Jammu, May 31 (PTI) Jammu and Kashmir government will not give recognition to any private educational institution in areas where government schools are already functioning.

"The state government will strictly adhere to the policy of not recognising any private educational institution in areas where government schools are already functioning in the state," Education Minister Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed said here today.

He was addressing a meeting of education department officers to discuss the targets set for the current financial year.

Sayeed said the literacy rate in the Jammu region has increased from 55.5 per cent in 2001 to 68.74 in 2011 with female literacy registering 15 per cent increase - from 43 per cent to 58.1 per cent.

Similarly, the male literacy rate has increased from 66.6 per cent to 78

362 cadets pass out of National Defence Academy in Pune

Khadakvasala (Pune, Maharashtra), May 31 (ANI): The Passing Out Parade (POP) of the 120th course of the National Defence Academy (NDA) took place at Khadakvasla, on the outskirts of Pune, on Tuesday.

Admiral Nirmal Verma, Chief of Naval Staff, took the salute and reviewed the parade that was watched the parents and guardians of the cadets as well as top brass of the defence units based in and around Pune and other civil dignitaries.

A total of 362 cadets, including 21 from friendly foreign countries, passed out in the 120th course.

A breathtaking fly past by the Jaguar and Sukhoi-30 aircraft of Indian Air Force lent added thrill and zest to the POP. Helicopters of the Saras aerobatic squadron of the Indian Air Force were also on show.

The NDA trains teenaged youngsters who have passed the Higher Secondary examination, who in fact are chosen after a strenuous test of both the brawn and brain.

These cadets undergo three-years training at NDA and during the final phase, they opt for the particular wing of the defence services - Army, Navy or Air Force for further training at the respective academies where they are attested as commissioned officers.

Nikhil Prabhune, a topper of 120th course was awarded the President''s gold medal and in an informal chat with the mediapersons, he related candidly about his aspirations to become an aviator in the Indian Navy.

He was all praise for the syllabus prescribed for the ab-initio trainee cadets that moulds them from raw civilian youngsters into tough individuals in body and spirit, a must for every combatant personnel of the defence forces.

"We are also trained to be officers in the Indian Navy. Extensive training in sports, co-curricular activities, adventure sports activities and public speaking is also imparted to us at the academy," said Cadet Nikhil Jayant Prabhune, winner of the President''s gold medal.

He also credited all this to his earlier alma mater, the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), a public school in Dehradun in India''s northern state of Uttarakhand, reckoned to be the perfect grooming institution for the NDA aspirants.

Cadets Shashank Singh and Kishore Kunal were presented the silver and bronze medals respectively.

Among the 21 cadets from foreign countries, one was from Bhutan, three were from Kazakhstan, four each were from Afghanistan and Maldives and nine were from Tajikistan.

The NDA has a proud record of a large number of officers and also has the distinction of training gentlemen cadets from many friendly foreign countries.

After West Point in the USA, the NDA is the second largest military training complex in the world. (ANI)

Congress distances itself from Maran over telecom scam

New Delhi, May 31 (ANI): Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari on Tuesday sought to distance the party from Union Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran''s alleged involvement in the multi-billion dollar 2G spectrum scam.

Refusing to respond to the tehelka magazine''s charge that in 2006, Maran had distributed 2G spectrum licenses to operators in a selective manner as telecom minister, Tiwari said that it was Maran''s responsibility to provide an explanation.

"If there are certain questions which have been asked of the textiles minister, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, obviously he would be in the best position to explain them. However, I think it would be appropriate to point out, that there is a joint parliamentary committee, which has been constituted specifically to go into issues connected to the telecom sector from 1998 to 2009," said Tiwari.

Maran has filed a suit against Tehelka in which he says that the magazine''s report is fictitious and ablatant lie that can only be settled in court.

Tehelka has said that it is yet to receive Maran''s legal notice, and charged the minister with launching a vindictive campaign against the magazine.

The telecom corruption scandal, which may have cost the Indian exchequer around 39.57 billion dollars in potential revenue, is the biggest of the several graft cases to emerge in the second term of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

According to probe officials, millions of dollars were paid in bribes to ensure favors for certain firms in 2007/08, when India issued 122 new licenses to offer mobile phone services in the world''s fastest growing telecoms market.

Meanwhile, Tiwari also asserted that the Congress did not wish to speculate on the anti-corruption agitation call given by India''s Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev.

"The Congress has nothing to say on Baba Ramdev," said Tiwari.

Ramdev would go on a fast against corruption from June 04 in New Delhi despite the Centre''s efforts to pacify him over his demand for action on black money.

Demanding the declaration of black money as national treasure, Ramdev has insisted on confirmation of United Nations Convention Against Corruption treaty in the Parliament, which would pave the way to bring back the Rs 400 crore or 4 billion of black money to India.

Ramdev claims that more than 10 million supporters will participate in the movement across the country. (ANI)

HAJO BRIDGE DILAPIDATED

A wooden bridge in dilapidated condition finally proved to be sole reason for the death of nearly 30 people. A bus carrying a marriage party fell off the bridge near Hajo in Kamrup district of Assam, leading to the tragedy. The death of the groom has left the bride dumb founded with her dream of a conjugal life in a shambles. A dilapidated wooden bridge linking Hajo with Nalbari has sounded the death knell for marriage party that was traveling in a ill-fated bus to the bride’s residence on Monday night. The tragedy has confirmed the worst fears of the local people who have for long been demanding replacement of the old wooden bridge with a RCC one. The thirty odd passengers who died in the accident also includes the groom. The locals have raised a finger at the PWD for turning a blind eye on the dilapidated wooden bridge along the busy Hajo-Nalbari road. For long years the people have been demanding that an RCC bridge be constructed and also the Hajo Nalbari road be widened. However, the highups in the PWD continued to turn a deaf ear to all the prayers made by the locals, who allege that the road has become a gold mine for a section of PWD officials and contractors. The writing was loud and clear on the wall for long that a tragedy of this nature might occur. Unfortunately, the PWD did not bother.Here are rows of dead bodies of innocent people who lost their lives in the tragic mishap. Will the PWD own the responsibility for their death? Can the PWD bring back to life the groom who dreamt of a colourful married life? Will the government make any one answerable for the tragic event?

PM appeals to Ramdev to call off his fast

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has appealed to yoga guru Baba Ramdev to call off his proposed indefinite fast against corruption, which will start on Saturday.
"We hope Baba Ramdev will not take recourse to agitation. We will make another effort to persuade him not to undertake it," Singh said.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has also been trying to convince Ramdev to abandon the fast, briefing him on steps being taken to recover black money stashed abroad.

The yoga guru, meanwhile, has said that he wants the Prime Minister and higher judiciary to be kept out of the Lokpal purview, taking a line contradictory to Anna Hazare's group
"All people holding constitutional posts should come under the Lokpal. The inclusion of the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India is a tricky question. If questions are raised on the integrity of a person sitting at the head of a democracy, then how will democracy survive. And if you doubt the head of the judicial system, then how can you assume that the Lokayukta will be more honest," Ramdev said.

Tirupati: Gold plating of richest temple shelved

New Delhi: Tirumala Tirupati Devesthanam (TTD) on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that it has shelved the controversial decision on gold plating of the sanctum sanctorum of the shrine of Lord Venkateswara at Tirupati, the world's richest temple.

The decision to reconsider the move was taken in deference to the sentiments expressed by thousands of devotees and the Andhra Pradesh High Court's judgement quashing the earlier resolution passed by the TTD for the gold plating exercise, the board told the apex court.

The TTD said it had no powers to carry out the exercise of drilling thousands of holes in the inner recess adorning the deities in view of the restrictions imposed by Section 2(a) of the Ancient Monuments and Archeolgoical Sites and

Remains Act, 1958.

By a resolution dated September 20, 2008, the TTD decided to carry out gold plating of the temple's sanctum sanctorum, which was fiercely opposed by several devotees on the ground that it was not only against scriptural tenets but posed a grave threat to the 11th century shrine.

A bench of justices G S Singhvi and A K Ganguly, which recorded the undertaking made by counsel Sridhar Potaraju, directed the Board not to take any decision on gold plating without prior permission of the apex court.

Magnitude 7.1 earthquake hits South Pacific

Paris: Geological monitoring services say a magnitude 7.1 earthquake had hit in the South Pacific off the French territory of New Caledonia on Tuesday.
No injuries or damage were immediately reported. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre says there was no threat of a widespread tsunami based on historical earthquake and tsunami data.
The US Geological Service and the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre said the quake hit at 14:25 IST on Tuesday, some 26.5 km beneath the ocean.

The epicentre was about 149 km off Ile Tadine in New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands chain, and more than 1,600 km from Brisbane, Australia.

Cop arrested for raping airline employee

Mumbai: A sub-inspector, posted in naxal-affected Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, has been arrested for allegedly raping an airline employee, married to an Australian, here and later extorting money from her, police

said on Tuesday.

The accused Manoj Londe surrendered before police in Mumbai after he came to know about the FIR being registered against him by the 21-year-old woman, Additional Police Commissioner (Central Region) Vineet Agarwal said.

The sub-inspector was booked by Vinoba Bhave police in central Mumbai on the charges of rape and extortion, following a complaint filed by the victim on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.

According to the FIR, Londe threatened the woman of posting some of her video clips taken in compromising positions on Internet, police said.

"The accused was produced in a local court in Kurla which remanded him in police custody till May 14," Agarwal said.

According to sources, Londe's mobile phone has been seized and police were questioning him as to where he had hidden the video clips of the victim.

Though the case was registered in Vinoba Bhave police station, the investigating officer in the case is Lata Donde, senior inspector at Shahu Nagar police station.

Defending his decision to hand over the investigation to Donde, the ACP said "Donde is a woman inspector and I think she can do the investigation in this particular case very well."

Meanwhile, the sources said ACP has taken serious note of the incident and wanted no loophole in the investigation.

"A lady officer can freely talk to the victim and also accordingly interrogate the accused. The victim would not have talked freely with a male officer," sources said.

Police said the victim was an Indian national married to an Australian. She first met Londe, who is also married, about two-and-a-half years ago in Vinoba Bhave police station where he was posted then. The duo subsequently became friends and started having an affair that continued for over two years.

The woman claimed Londe later started demanding money from her and also threatened of releasing the MMS clips on Internet if she did not shell out money as and when needed by him, said Agarwal.

After the threats, the victim started avoiding him.

Even after he was transferred to Gadchiroli district over a year ago, he continued to blackmail her and forced her to have physical relationship, police said.

The victim claimed last week, Londe came to Mumbai and beat her up.

Osama’s killing a victorious milestone against terrorism: Krishna

New Delhi, May 2 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna on Monday said the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is a historic development and victorious milestone in the global war against the forces of terrorism

In a statement, Krishna said: “US President Obama has just announced that his government has conducted a successful operation that has resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden deep inside Pakistan. This operation brings to closure an almost decade-long search for the head of the Al Qaeda.”

“Over the years, thousands of innocent lives of men, women and children have been tragically lost at the hands of terrorist groups. The world must not let down its united effort to overcome terrorism and eliminate the safe havens and sanctuaries that have been provided to terrorists in our own neighbourhood. The struggle must continue unabated,” he added.

Earlier today, the United States Government informed that Osama Bin Laden had been killed by security forces somewhere "deep inside Pakistan."

Osama, 54, who created and funded the al Qaeda terror network, was accused of being behind a number of atrocities, including the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001.

He was suspected of playing large roles in the 1998 bombings of two US Embassies in Africa and the attack on the USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden in October 2000. (ANI)

Al Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden killed, Obama says justice done

The world's most wanted man, Osama bin Laden is dead, US President Barack Obama has confirmed. Osama was killed in a firefight in Pakistan. In a dramatic, late-night White House speech, Obama revealed that he had been briefed last August on a possible lead to Osama’s whereabouts and he authorised an operation last week to bring the al Qaeda chief “to justice”. The President also said that Osama’s body was in US custody.

The mastermind of the worst terrorist attacks on American soil is dead, U.S. President Barack Obama announced late Sunday night, almost 10 years after the attacks that killed about 3,000 people. Osama bin Laden -- the founder and leader of al Qaeda -- was killed by U.S. forces Sunday in a mansion in Abbottabad, north of the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, along with other family members, a senior U.S. official told CNN. In an address to the nation Sunday night, Obama called bin Laden's death the most significant achievement to date in our the USA’s effort to defeat al Qaeda.

Obama said he had been briefed last August on a possible lead to Bin Laden's whereabouts. After being confirmed about the location of the dreaded Al Qaida leader, a team of US forces undertook the operation in Abbottabad on Sunday evening. After a firefight Bin Laden was killed and his body taken by US forces

In his speech, Obama reiterated that the United States is not at war with Islam. Footage that aired on GEO TV on Monday showed fire and smoke spewing from the compound where bin Laden was killed. Half a world away, the scene outside the White House was of pure jubilation. Hundreds reveled through the night, chanting "USA! USA!" Others chanted "Hey, hey, hey, goodbye!" in reference to the demise of bin Laden. Many also spontaneously sang the national anthem. The news also brought some relief to family members of those killed on 9/11. Bin Laden eluded capture for years, once reportedly slipping out of a training camp in Afghanistan just hours before a barrage of U.S. cruise missiles destroyed it. He had been implicated in a series of deadly, high-profile attacks that had grown in their intensity and success during the 1990s. They included a deadly firefight with U.S. soldiers in Somalia in October 1993, the bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa that killed 224 in August 1998, and an attack on the USS Cole that killed 17 sailors in October 2000. U.S. diplomatic facilities around the world were placed on high alert following the announcement of bin Laden's death and the U.S. State Department issued a worldwide caution for Americans.

IAF detects 'chopper-like object' in Bhutan

Shillong: Images taken by two Su30 aircraft have detected 'an aircraft-like something' in an area in Bhutan on which aerial search is focusing to locate the helicopter carrying Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and four others which went missing on Saturday.

"Su30s with recee pods have managed to pick up something which has been given for assessment. What they have found is something like an aircraft," Eastern Air Command Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Air Marshal KK Nohwar said on Monday.

The helicopters are searching with the inputs, he said."The helicopters have made attempts to go to certain areas in Bhutan. Whenever the weather is clearing, the helicopters are being pressed into service," Nohwar said.

He said inputs also came from ISRO on three possible sites.

"Information coming from villagers say they have heard or saw something and are being collated with other inputs and based on that search is being conducted," he said.

Stating that the weather has been hindering the aerial search, the Air Marshal said aircraft are on stand-by in Guwahati, Tawang and Tezpur for search operations.

Asked about the possibility of sabotage, Nohwar said "I don t think so. Let's not jump the gun and talk about all these things."

On the possible reasons of a likely crash, Nohwar said "it is too early to say about the reason. But weather could be one of the causes."

The Pawan Hans chopper, he said, was a brand new one and was only four months old.

"We are concerned about what has happened. From the time we got the information, we have launched our helicopters. The army has also launched a massive operation on the ground," he said.

Asked why Su30s were brought from Bareilly when two squadrons were stationed in Tezpur and Chabua in Assam, Nohwar said the Sukhois in the Northeast lacked mapping equipment.

The four-seater single-engine Pawan Hans helicopter went missing on Saturday 20 minutes after takeoff from Tawang at 9:56 am.

Besides Khandu, the others on board were pilots Captain JS Babbar and Captain TS Mamik, Khandu's security officer Yeshi Choddak and a lady Yeshi Lhamu, sister of Tawang MLA Tsewang Dhondup.

The chopper was to land at Itanagar at about 11:30 am.

The Guwahati air traffic control had reportedly received the last radio communication from it when it was flying near Sela Pass 20 minutes after takeoff.

Largest-ever 3D map of distant universe created

Washington: Planetary scientists claim to have created the largest-ever three-dimensional map of the distant universe, using the light of the brightest objects in the cosmos.

Since this distant light took eons to reach Earth, the map is essentially a window back in time, providing an unprecedented view of what the universe looked like 11 billion years ago, say the scientists.

In fact, they made the map using light from 14,000 quasars -- supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies billions of light years away -- with the third Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-III). The map is the first major result from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), SDSS-III's largest

survey, whose principal investigator is David Schlegel of the US Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

The huge new map was presented at the April meeting of the American Physical Society in Anaheim, CA, by An e Slosar of Brookhaven National Laboratory. "Quasars are the brightest objects in the universe, which we use as convenient backlights to illuminate the intervening hydrogen gas that fills the universe between us and them," Slosar said.

"We can see their shadows, and the details in their shadows" -- specifically, the absorption features in their spectra known as the Lyman-alpha forest -- "allowing us to see how the gas is clumped along our line of sight.

"The amazing thing is that this allows us to see the universe so very far away, where measuring positions of individual galaxies in large numbers is impractical," he said.

ARUNACHAL CM REMAINS TRACELESS

The ISRO has released the pictures taken by its two satellites from over the Tawnag region of Arunachal Pradesh. we are showing you the exclusive visuals of these photographs. We have seen that because of thick cloud, nothing much was visible. Clouds are clearly visible in these images. The ISRO spokesman told NETV that they have not been able to gather much from these pictures.Both the ISRO and the Indian Air Force are analyzing pictures taken over the Tawang-Itanagar helicopter router as the chopper carrying Arunachal chief minister Dorjee Khandu is still traceless more than 24 hours after it went missing. The ISRO used its satellites to map the area while two Sukhoi planes from Bareilly air base in UP made sorties over the heliciopter route and took pictures of the entire area. A Mi17 chopper of the Indian Air Force which went looking for the missing helicopter made two sorties before bad weather forced it to return today. The helicopter from Tawang searched the Bhutan areas besides the Tawang-Itanagar route. Four Cheetah helicopters and two MI 17 choppers ate on stand-by at Tezpur and Guwahati, but could not take off because of the weather. 30 columns of the Indian Army comprising 2,400 personnel from Tawang and Tenga were searching on the ground for the missing helicopter on the Indo-Bhutan border. Six ITBP teams with 25 personnel each also joined the ground search operations. Meanwhile, the state-owned Pawan Hans has defended itself by saying that the helicopter was four-months old and in perfect condition technically. In a statement, Pawan Hans said VIPs had used the chopper previously without experiencing any problem. The defence of the chopper came as Chief Minister Khandu's adviser Kiren Rijiju said there was need to take a strong view on the maintenance capabilities of Pawan Hans. Though some Arunachal Pradesh Government officials have said the chopper has made an emergency landing in Bhutan, the Bhutanese Government has said that no such emergency landing has been made. External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna has reportedly spoken to his Bhutanese counterpart Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering and requested him to provide assistance in the search and rescue effort. The Indian Space Research Organisation deployed two satellites to search for the missing chopper. The search operation is being conducted under the supervision of the commander of the Army 4 Corps. Bhutanese forces are moving to the east of their country to meet up with their Indian counterparts and join in the search operation. Over one thousand villagers living along the Arunachal Pradesh-Bhutan border fanned out early on Sunday morning to search for the missing helicopter. The missing Pawan Hans AS350 B-3 helicopter that took off from Tawang at 9.50 a.m. on Saturday lost communication with the ground after it flew past the Sela Pass along the Chinese border about 20 to 25 minutes later. The helicopter was scheduled to land in Itanagar at 11.30 a.m. on Saturday. The state government has also set up a crisis management cell with Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Yeshi Tsering, Civil Aviation Commissioner Hage Khoda, Home Secretary A K Srivastav, Inspector General of Police S.B.K. Singh, Deputy Inspector General Police Robin Hibu, Deputy Inspector General of Police Anil Shukla, City Deputy Commissioner Pawan Kumar Sain and Superintendent of Police Apang Tamut as its members. Apart from Khandu, the people on board included crew members Captain J S Babbar and Captain KS Malick, Khandu"s security officer Yeshi Choddak and Yeshi Lamu, sister of Tawang legislator Tsewang Dhondup. The missing helicopter, AS350 B-3, is a single-engine chopper. In case of an engine failure, there are very slim chances of the helicopter making a safe landing.

Two Sukhoi jets, 30 other aircraft searching for missing Arunachal CM

New Delhi/Itanagar/Bareilly, May 1 (ANI): Two Sukhoi aircraft and about 30 other Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft have been deployed to search for missing Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu.

The Sukhoi jets took off from the Indian Air Force base in Bareilly this morning, a private television channel reported. The IAF has completed two sorties of the area, and has begun a third sortie.

Though some Arunachal Pradesh Government officials have said the chopper has made an emergency landing in Bhutan, the Bhutanese Government has said that no such emergency landing has been made.

External Affairs Minister S.M.Krishna has reportedly spoken to his Bhutanese counterpart Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering and requested him to provide assistance in the search and rescue effort.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has also deployed two satellites to search for the missing chopper.

ISRO sources said they would be in a position to give some details late on Sunday afternoon after reviewing the satellite pictures after noon. The two ISRO satellites will be deployed between 10.30 a.m. and noon.

The search operation is being conducted under the supervision of the commander of the Army 4 Corp. About 30 army columns, besides paramilitaries are conducting the search operations on the Indian side. The Indian Air Force is backing them.

Bhutanese forces are moving to the east of their country to meet up with their Indian counterparts and join in the search operation.

Over one thousand villagers living along the Arunachal Pradesh-Bhutan border fanned out early on Sunday morning to search for the missing helicopter.

Two Central Government ministers – V. Narayanswamy and Mukul Wasnik have been asked by the UPA Government to reach Itanagar to monitor the situation.

When reports last came in, the two ministers had reached Guwahati, but were unable to proceed to Itanagar because of inclement weather.

Two MI-17 helicopters have also been deployed for the search operations. Only one of the two has been able to reach Itanagar.

The missing Pawan Hans AS350 B-3 helicopter that took off from Tawang at 9.50 a.m. on Saturday lost communication with the ground after it flew past the Sela Pass along the Chinese border about 20 to 25 minutes later. The helicopter was scheduled to land in Itanagar at 11.30 a.m. on Saturday.

Khandu''s spokesperson Jambey Tsering said: "The second day search operation has begun. The chief minister is still untraceable. Weather conditions have been deteriorating at various locations, but the search operation began early in the morning itself."

The state government has also set up a crisis management cell with Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Yeshi Tsering, Civil Aviation Commissioner Hage Khoda, Home Secretary A K Srivastav, Inspector General of Police S.B.K. Singh, Deputy Inspector General Police (West) Robin Hibu, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Intelligence) Anil Shukla, City Deputy Commissioner Pawan Kumar Sain and Superintendent of Police Apang Tamut as its members.

The committee will be monitoring the situation under the overall guidance and supervision of Chief Secretary Tabam Bam.

On Saturday, several media reports quoted Arunachal Pradesh Governor General (retired) J J Singh and Chief Secretary Bam as saying that the helicopter had landed safely somewhere in eastern Bhutan adjoining Tawang district and that the same helicopter was flying back to Guwahati with the chief minister on board.

Bhutan, however, later denied that any Indian helicopter had landed in its territory, but said a search operation was launched following request from New Delhi.

Apart from Khandu, the people on board included crew members Captain J S Babbar and Captain KS Malick, Khandu''s security officer Yeshi Choddak and Yeshi Lamu, sister of Tawang legislator Tsewang Dhondup.

The missing helicopter, AS350 B-3, is a single-engine chopper. In case of an engine failure, there are very slim chances of the helicopter making a safe landing. (ANI)

ISRO deploys satellites to search for missing Arunachal Pradesh CM

Bangalore/Itanagar, May 1 (ANI): The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has deployed two satellites to search for the missing chopper of Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu.

ISRO sources said that they would be in a position to give some details late on Sunday afternoon after reviewing the satellite pictures after noon. The two ISRO satellites will be deployed between 10.30 a.m. and noon.

Meanwhile, the search operation is being conducted under the supervision of the commander of the Army 4 Corp. About 30 army columns, besides paramilitaries are conducting the search operations on the Indian side. They are being backed by the Indian Air Force, which has already conducted two sorties in the area where the missing chopper is said to have gone down.

Bhutanese forces are moving to the east of the country to meet up with their Indian counterparts and join in the search operation.

Over one thousand villagers living along the Arunachal Pradesh-Bhutan border fanned out early on Sunday morning in search of a missing helicopter carrying Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu and four other people.

Simultaneously, two Central Government ministers – V. Narayanswamy and Mukul Wasnik have been asked by the UPA Government to reach Itanagar to monitor the situation. When reports last came in, the two ministers had reached Guwahati, but were unable to proceed to Itanagar because of inclement weather.

Two MI-17 helicopters have also been deployed for the search operations. Only one of the two has been able to reach Itanagar.

The Indian Army and paramilitary troops have also been called in to help in the search and possible rescue effort. The Indian Government has made a request to neighbouring Bhutan to deploy Bhutanese troops in the search operation on its side of the Indo-Bhutan border.

Teams of the Indian Air Force (IAF) have resumed search operations this morning to locate the missing Pawan Hans AS350 B-3 helicopter that took off from Tawang at 9.50 a.m. on Saturday.

The copter lost communication with the ground after it flew past the Sela Pass along the Chinese border about 20 to 25 minutes later. The helicopter was scheduled to land in Itanagar at 11.30 a.m. on Saturday.

Khandu''''s spokesperson Jambey Tsering said: "The second day search operation has begun. The chief minister is still untraceable. Weather conditions have been deteriorating at various locations, but the search operation began early in the morning itself."

The committee will be monitoring the situation under the overall guidance and supervision of Chief Secretary Tabam Bam.

Bhutan, however, later denied that any Indian helicopter had landed in its territory, but said a search operation was launched following request from New Delhi.

Apart from Khandu, the people on board included crew members Captain J S Babbar and Captain KS Malick, Khandu''''s security officer Yeshi Choddak and Yeshi Lamu, sister of Tawang legislator Tsewang Dhondup.

The missing helicopter, AS350 B-3, is a single-engine chopper. In case of an engine failure, there are very slim chances of the helicopter making a safe landing. (ANI)

Bad weather hampers search for Arunachal CM

New Delhi: Massive search operations to find missing Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu began at 5:30 am on Sunday with the SSB and ITBP personnel joining the Army in the massive search operation.However, bad weather hampered the search operation as helicopters could not take off for the search operation. Six helicopters were stranded, four of which were in Tejpur.Pawan Hans suspended commercial operations in North East on Sunday so that these helicopters were available for search and rescue and the DGCA reviews the current situation.Dorjee Khandu's son and MLA Jambey Tashi Khandu said, "Arunachal Chief Minister has been untraceable and due to the bad weather conditions the search operations have been halted."

Dorjee Khandu's spokesperson Jambey Tsering said, "The second day search operation has begun. The Arunachal Pradesh CM is still untraceable. Weather conditions have been deteriorating at various locations, but the search operation began early in the morning itself."

Two MI-17s and two Sukhoi 30s scanning the area. Their data will be analysed for further clues. Since the area is close to Bhutan, teams from Bhutan's army are also searching at the seven border districts.

Khandu's chopper has been untraceable since Saturday morning. The last contact with the Pawan Hans helicopter was made 20 minutes after its take off at 9:56 am on Saturday. The contact was abruptly cut off and since then there has been no trace.

The chopper was carrying the Chief Minister, a police officer, a woman official and two captains.

On Saturday, there was confusion over whether Khandu's chopper has been found or not.

Chief Minister's office said that Khandu's helicopter had to make an emergency landing due to technical snag near Tawang but inside Bhutanese territory and the CM was safe. However, later the Bhutan government said that they have no information of any chopper landing in Bhutan.

Khandu had taken off from Tawang at 9:56 am and was to land at Itanagar at 11:30 am by the chartered Pawan Hans helicopter.

56-year-old Khandu, who had served in the intelligence wing of the Indian Army, was sworn on April 9, 2007 as the fifth chief minister of the state, replacing Gegong Apang.

On April 19, a Pawan Hans helicopter crashed in the mountains of Tawang, bordering Tibet, killing all 17 people on board. The helicopter crashed not far away from the helipad and the DGCA had found that proper fire-fighting facilities could have saved lives.

In the other incident, an army helicopter crashed near Gangtok killing four occupants on board.

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