Maoists free abducted Bihar policemen

Two days after Maoists killed policeman Lucas Tete, the ultra Leftwing rebels Sunday freed the three other policemen they had abducted a week ago, the local media reported. However, the police have declined to confirm the development.The three policemen – Abhay Prasad Yadav, Rupesh Kumar Sinha and Ehsan Khan – were reportedly released by their captors in a jungle area between Lakhisarai and Jamui districts, local journalists said.
Rajni Devi, wife of Abhay Kumar Yadav, told reporters at her residence in Begusarai district that a Maoist leader visited her house early Sunday and told her that her husband and his two colleagues had been let off.“I am very happy and hoping that my husband will come home soon,” Rajni Devi said.The release comes two days after the bullet-riddled body of Lucas Tete was found near a forest in Lakhisarai district. He had been killed by the Maoists.Family members of Rupesh in Bettiah district and Ehsan’s family in Ranchi in Jharkhand said are eagerly waiting for the men to return.“We are happy to hear that my son Ehsan and other policemen have been released by the Maoists. We are waiting to welcome him,” Ehsan’s aged father Mohiuddin Khan said over telephone.Director General of Police Neelmani, however, declined to confirm the development.“We are not in a position to say anything unless the three abducted men return to their homes,” he said here.Maoist spokesperson Avinash Saturday claimed the three policemen were safe.They were abducted by Maoists after a six-hour gunfight in Lakhisarai last Sunday.The gunbattle left seven policemen dead and 10 injured. The Maoists claimed the gunfight was in retaliation for the killing of their leader Cherukuri Rajkumar alias Azad and a journalist on the night of July 1-2 in Andhra Pradesh.Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar held an all-party meeting Saturday evening and said that the state government would hold talks with the Maoists on their demand for the release of eight jailed commanders in exchange for the three abducted policemen.All the political parties appealed to the Maoists to release the three policemen, he said.Nitish Kumar said the Maoists should come forward for face-to-face talk with the state government.
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Telangana students ransack exam centre at Osmania

Hyderabad, Sep 5 : Students protesting the conduct of the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) exam ransacked an exam centre at the Osmania University campus here Sunday, leaving three injured.Tension prevailed at the B.Ed college as protesters broke the security cordon and barged into the exam centre. Some students writing the test came out with question papers and answer sheets and tore and dumped them on the roads, police said. The students were injured in a scuffle with police, which used batons against the protesters and arrested many of them, a police official said. Although the police made elaborate security arrangements in view of the boycott call given by the Osmania University Joint Action Committee (OUJAC) and other pro-Telangana groups, the protesters outnumbered them. Activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and OUJAC uprooted the security barricades and broke into the college. The police failed to prevent them. Four MPs of the ruling Congress party and leaders of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) also joined the protesting students. Despite the boycott and Telangana shutdown called by student groups and pro-Telangana parties and leaders, the APPSC went ahead with the the Group I Prelim exam amid tight security. Police deployment was marked at 445 centres where the exam began at 10.30 a.m. Sporadic incidents of violence were reported from different parts of Telangana as the shutdown evoked partial response. The strike affected services of the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corp (APSRTC) in Karimnagar and Warangal districts. The impact was partial in the remaining eight districts including Hyderabad. Legislators and leaders of the TRS and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) were taken into custody in different parts of Telangana. The pro-Telangana groups were demanding that the exam be postponed till the share of the region in the Group I postings is made clear. They were demanding 42 percent share for the region. More than 1.6 lakh candidates are writing the exam for recruitment to 198 posts.
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Concession agreement signed for Hyderabad Metro

Hyderabad, Sep 4 : The concession agreement for the Rs.12,132-crore Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) project was signed here Saturday.The Andhra Pradesh government signed the pact with Larsen and Toubro Hyderabad Metro Rail Pvt. Ltd for development of Hyderabad Metro Rail project in public-private partnership (PPP) mode. Leading construction group Larsen and Toubro, which bagged the project in July this year, has formed a special purpose vehicle for developing the project on design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis. As per the agreement, L and T has to submit bank guarantee for Rs.360 crore as performance security to government and achieve financial closure for the project within six months. The concession period is for 35 years including five years for construction, with a provision of extension for another 25 years. The concessionaire can undertake real estate development up to a maximum of 18.5 million square feet through utilisation of air space over the 269 acres of land earmarked for rail facilities. The agreement was signed by Urban Development Principal Secretary T.S. Appa Rao and the newly-formed L and T Hyderabad Metro Rail Pvt. Ltd's managing director V.B. Gadgil in the presence of Chief Minister K. Rosaiah. Rosaiah said that with 71 km metro rail lane taken up in one go, it was one of the world's largest metro rail projects and in fact the largest one in the PPP mode. Out of the total project cost of Rs.12,132 crore, L and T sought a grant of Rs.1,458 crore and this will be borne by the central government. The ground work on the project will begin in January next year. The project covers three high density traffic corridors - Miyapur-LB Nagar (28.87 km); JBS-Falaknuma (14.78 km) and Nagole-Shilparamam (27.51 km). The estimated traffic demand is 15 lakh passengers per day in 2014 and 22 lakh passengers per day in 2024. The fare structure consists of a minimum basic fare of Rs.8 and a maximum fare of Rs.19 in 2014.
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Telangana ministers demand postponement of state exam

Hyderabad, Sep 4 : A group of ministers from Telangana region Saturday urged Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah to postpone the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) selection test as a showdown looks inevitable with students from the region intensifying their protest and calling for a shutdown Sunday.Ministers D. Sridhar Babu, K. Venkat Reddy, D.K. Aruna and Sunita Lakshma Reddy sought Rosaiah's intervention to postpone the Sep 5 exam, which has divided students and even the political parties along regional lines. The APPSC, however, was going ahead with the exam as scheduled on Sunday at 445 centres across the state for recruitment to 198 posts. More than 1.6 lakh candidates are expected to appear in the exam. Police were making massive security arrangements for the smooth conduct of the exam and prohibitory orders banning assembly of five or more people have been imposed around all exam centres. Congress MP from Nizamabad Madhu Yashki Goud told reporters in New Delhi that he would join Telangana students to protest the conduct of the exam. He warned that the conduct of the exam despite protests would have serious consequences. Four students of the Osmania University here Saturday launched a fast for indefinite period, demanding that the APPSC preliminary exam be postponed until 42 percent of the jobs at stake are reserved for the Telangana region. Protests broke out on the university campus as the four students locked themselves in the Art College Building and began the fast on the roof to prevent police from foiling their protest. Students in other parts of Telangana took to the streets demanding postponement of the exam. In Mahabubnagar, students set afire their hall tickets for APPSC Group I preliminary exam. Students of Kakatiya University in Warangal also launched a fast. The Osmania University Joint Action Committee (JAC) has called for a boycott of the exam and a shutdown in the region Sunday. The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and other groups fighting for a separate Telangana state have also supported the shutdown call. A delegation of JAC leaders met Home Minister P. Sabita Indra Reddy to demand that the government immediately put off the exam. They have also sought intervention of Governor E.S.L.Narasimhan and the State Human Rights Commission. Alleging injustice to Telangana, leaders of both the ruling Congress and the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in the region also have demanded that the state public service exam be deferred until the share of Telangana in Group I postings is made clear. The ministers from Telangana have voiced their apprehension that the boycott and shutdown call given by students and supported by the opposition could create law and order problems. Meanwhile, Director General of Police K. Aravinda Rao has asked all district superintendents of police to provide a three-layer security cover to the centres to prevent any untoward incident. All the candidates have been asked to reach the centres well in advance. Meanwhile, educational institutions in Andhra and Rayalseema regions remained closed Saturday in response to the shutdown call given by some groups in support of the exam. Telangana groups said they see a conspiracy behind the sudden decision of the APPSC to conduct the exam, which were postponed for two years. They alleged that the exam was being conducted to recruit candidates from other regions without specifying the share of Telangana at time when formation of a separate Telangana had become almost certain. They even warned the government of a bloodbath if it goes ahead with the exam. TRS chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao has demanded the arrest and prosecution of APPSC chairman Venkatarami Reddy for doing injustice to Telangana in previous recruitments. He alleged that Telangana students who scored well in the written test were deliberately given fewer marks in oral tests to disqualify them from appointments. The row has erupted close on the heels of an attack on lecturers of Andhra and Rayalaseema regions by Telangana students at Osmania University here. The students were protesting the evaluation of B.Ed papers by teachers from other regions.
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