Jama Masjid buzzes back to life day after shooting

Jama Masjid and its surrounding areas in Delhi’s old quarters was back to its bustling self Monday, a day after gunmen opened fire outside the 16th century mosque, injuring two Taiwanese. While tourists came in large numbers, it was business as usual for the numerous shops in the area.

Despite advisories from the governments of Australia and Britain urging their nationals to refrain from visiting sensitive locations, around 35 foreigners were seen near the historic mosque Monday morning while many more visited the majestic Red Fort nearby.“Yes, there were some concerns but the mood at our camp is upbeat. There is no scare… neither are we planning to cut short our vacation here in India,” British tourist Steve Coll said as he came out of Jama Masjid.Two Taiwanese tourists – Ko Chang and Ku Ze Wei – were wounded when two gunmen on a motorcycle opened random fire at a bus from which a group of tourists was alighting near the Jama Masjid Sunday morning.The attack, just after 11 a.m., took place near Gate No.3 of the mammoth, red sandstone mosque.Though the police presence increased by the hour Monday, shops near Jama Masjid opened at their usual time and rikshaw-pullers eagerly awaited customers.“We’re not afraid. The event occurred, and we’re over it. But we wish that the criminals are arrested soon, or we’ll be affected adversely if tourists get scared,” aid Monu, a rickshaw puller.Ganga Singh, who works in ‘Delhi’s Ivory Palace’, a shop opposite Jama Masjid’s Gate No.3, seemed unfazed by Sunday’s shooting incident. He opened the shutters of the shop at around 9 a.am., like he does on a normal working day.“What have we to fear? Police is carrying on their investigations…the results will come out and we’ll carry out our business as usual,” Singh said.Sanjay Chauhan, who works in a garage a liitle away from Singh’s shop, told IANS that no one in the neighbourhood was scared and that they would assisst the police in every way possible.“All shops will open in due time…nobody’s scared of those attackers. Work will go on as usual and we’ll assist the police to the best we can,” Chauhan said.Mohammed Amin, another rickshaw puller, said: “It is important that those criminals are caught and their identity revealed. These terrorists want nothing but disturbances in the city. We all will help the police in any way we can.”A policeman, who arrived at the site at 7.30 a.am., was alert but calm and said that everybody in the area was at peace. “People aren’t panicky or in a state of shock. There is not much to worry about but we’re watchful nevertheless,” he said.“We are watchful for any new faces and for suspicious elements,” he said.Visitors in tourist buses and hired taxis were seen near the mosque and many parents were also seen escorting their young ones inside the complex.In other parts of the city, tourist hotspots like Connaught Place, Gole Market and areas around Commonwealth Games venues were heavily barricaded. Traffic restrictions were imposed at around 470 landmarks and prime locations, including Qutub Minar, Lotus Temple and major markets.Several motorists said they could not park their vehicles because of the restrictions.Police said pillion riders have been disallowed near these sites and motorists will have to park their vehicles at least 100 metres away from these places. CCTVs are also being installed at these locations, police said.
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Murdered girl student's friends being questioned

Hyderabad, Sep 20 : A day after the gruesome murder of a girl student by her senior, Hyderabad police Monday were questioning two of their friends.

Shekhar Goud, who killed engineering final year student Divya by smashing her head with a baseball bat, is still at large and police have formed special teams to arrest him. Police suspect it to be a case of sexual jealousy as Divya had been avoiding him of late and had befriended another boy, Pradeep. The body of 20-year-old Divya, student of Vignan Engineering College on the city outskirts, was handed over to her relatives after an autopsy at Osmania Hospital. Shekhar had invited Divya to his flat at Hill Colony in Vanasthalipuram Sunday evening for talks to sort out some differences which had of late cropped up between them. After killing Divya, Shekhar sent an SMS to Pradeep saying he had eliminated her and wanted to end his life. Alerted by Pradeep, police found the body of the girl in his flat. Police were questioning Pradeep and another friend of Vidya. Meanwhile, women and students' groups staged a protest at Vanasthalipuram police station demanding capital punishment to Shekhar. They alleged that the government had failed to act though such incidents were taking place regularly. Divya's father Madhusudhan Rao, who works with Mahindra and Mahindra in Kolkata, returned along with his wife Susheela. The girl was staying with her relatives in Habsiguda area. Shekhar, who completed his engineering last year, is a native of Nalgonda district but his father Venkatesham Goud works in Mumbai
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16 drowned in Ganesh immersions across Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad, Sep 20 : As many as 16 people lost their lives during the Ganesh idol immersions in different parts of Andhra Pradesh Monday, police said.

Tragedy struck Ganesh festivities in Krishna district when six people were drowned while immersing an idol in a lake. According to police, the incident took place at Gollanapalle village of Gannavaram mandal. Local fishermen fished out the bodies of the six youths, all hailing from Gannavaram. Three people died in a similar incident in Kadapa district and two persons were washed away in Godavari River when they were immersing an idol at Bhadrachalam in Khammam district. Two youngsters met a watery grave in a lake at Mandamarri in Adilabad district and two people in East Godavari district. One death has been reported from Nizamabad district. The Ganesh immersion is taking place in different parts of the state for the last two days. The festivities will continue over the next two days. The mammoth Ganesh procession will be taken out in Hyderabad Wednesday. Over 13,000 idols will be immersed in Hussainsagar Lake in the heart of the city.
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New Delhi shooting won’t stop Taiwanese from visiting India

Taiwan media gave wide coverage Monday to the incident in New Delhi in which two members of a Taiwanese film crew were shot, but some people said the incident would not stop them from visiting India.The United Daily News carried seven related stories, one analysing terrorist attacks in India and another warning that the two Taiwanese victims might be infected with the superbug in Indian hospitals.But some travel agents and Taiwanese are not overly concerned.“This is an isolated incident. It will not affect Taiwan people’s interest in visiting India,” Yeh Ting-lin, chairman of the Shih Chun Travel, said.“Terrorist attacks usually target Americans and Europeans. Generally speaking, Taiwan tourists are safe,” he added.Chou Mei-li, head of the Friends of Tibet, said the shooting will not scare Taiwanese who travel to India to visit Buddhist temples or to see the Dalai Lama.“I also think this is an isolated incident, and the target of the shooting was not Taiwanese,” she added.The Foreign Ministry urged Taiwanese to mind travelers’ personal safety when in India, but did not issue a travel alert.India is a favourite travel destination for Taiwanese. Nearly 30,000 Taiwanese visit India each year for sightseeing or business.Some of the tourists are “religious tourists”, like Buddhist pilgrims, disciples of the Dalai Lama or disciples of late spiritual leader Osho.According to the Dalai Lama’s representative office in Taipei, there are half a million students of Tibetan Buddhism in Taiwan, and the number is increasing.“Every year, some 1,000 Taiwanese travel as a group to Dharamsala to attend Buddhist lectures given by the Dalai Lama,” said Sonam Dorji, secretary-general of the representative office.The shooting occurred Sunday morning outside the Jama Masjid in New Delhi.A Taiwan TV crew had just stepped out of a coach when two masked men arrived on a motorbike, fired on the mosque and at the coach before speeding off.One cameraman was hit in the abdomen, while the other was grazed in the back by a bullet. The condition of both men was stable.A few hours after the shooting, an Islamic militant group issued a statement and threatened to attack the Commonwealth Games scheduled to begin in New Delhi October 3-14, with 7,000 athletes and 100,000 tourists.
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Advani speaks to Chidambaram on Delhi shooting, Uttarakhand landslide

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani Sunday telephoned Home Minister P. Chidambaram and discussed security measures in the wake of the shooting near Jama Masjid that wounded two Taiwanese tourists and the landslides in Uttarakhand which killed over 40 people in the BJP-ruled state.

Advani said that he spoke to Chidambaram and discussed the heightened terror threat perception ahead of the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games in the light of Sunday’s shooting near Jama Masjid.The issue also figured in their talks briefly when Advani and Chidambaram met at India Islamic Cultural Centre which had organised an Eid get-together.Advani added that he also discussed the devastating landslides and heavy rains in Uttarakhand that have killed over 40 people and left many homeless. Uttarakhand has recorded over 300 mm of rainfall since Saturday.Two Taiwanese tourists were wounded when two gunmen on a motorcycle opened random fire near the Jama Masjid here Sunday morning, creating a scare ahead of the Commonwealth Games.Ko Chang and Ku Ze Wei, both in their 20s, were shot in the head and stomach respectively when the gunmen fired at a bus from which a group of tourists was alighting, police and eyewitnesses said.The attack came despite a high level of security here in the run up to the Commonwealth Games that will draw 7,000 athletes and officials from 71 countries and territories.
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Mumbai police on high alert after Delhi shooting

Mumbai police Sunday went on high alert in the wake of the shooting near New Delhi’s Jama Masjid as well as the ongoing 11-day Ganeshotsava festival in the city, officials said.Besides increasing vigilance and security checks at all the Ganesh mandals across the city, police have also turned their attention to the 200-plus mosques and mausoleums, including Haji Ali dargah and Mahim dargah, and others dotting the metropolis.While the Ganesh ‘visarjan’ is scheduled to take place all over the city and elsewhere in the state Sep 22, the Ayodhya judgement is expected Sep 24 – both of which have necessitated the heightened security measures in Mumbai.The curtains will come down Wednesday on the state’s biggest public festival Ganeshotsav when around 150,000 big and small idols of the elephant-headed god will be taken for immersion at all the beaches, creeks, rivers, lakes, ponds and other artificial water bodies created for the purpose around the city. Around six million people are expected to participate.
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Jama Masjid shooting: Red alert in Delhi

A red alert has been sounded in the capital following a shooting incident at the capital’s Jama Masjid in which two Taiwanese were wounded.“A red alert has been sounded and we are conducting checks at various points,” Delhi Police Joint Commissioner Karnail Singh told reporters. He said the police were confident of nabbing the culprits soon.
According to Delhi Police, security has been increased in sensitive areas and suspicious vehicles are being checked.“There is a high alert, we are checking all suspicious vehicles, especially motorcycles matching the description of the one used in the shooting,” a Delhi Police official said.Checking has also been increased at all entry points to the capital from neighbouring areas.Two gunmen on a motorcycle opened random fire at one of the entrances to the Jama Masjid here Sunday, leaving two Taiwanese tourists wounded and sparking panic.The attackers fired at least 10 rounds at a group of tourists alighting from a bus outside the 16th-century red sandstone mosque in the old quarters of the city.According to police, the attackers were were fair complexioned and tall youth and were not wearing any masks on their face.
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Rosaiah launches Ayurvedic hospital in AP

Hyderabad, Sep 20 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah has inaugurated Earth Hospital, a chain of multi-speciality Ayurvedic hospitals in the Hyderabad city.

Speaking on the occasion yesterday, Dr Rosaiah said Ayurveda is a treatment which has been invented and practised by the ancestors for ages and is as relevant today.
Especially it can provide complete treatment and can erase the disease from its roots, unlike allopathy, which provides relief but can't stop recurrence of the disease, he added. The Chief Minister said traditional Ayurveda patients rely just on it for all their ailments and wouldn't look at other options. ''Even today, there are several families who only avail ayurvedic treatment, that is the confidence they have in the treatment and its all due to the cure they have seen that ayurveda provides.'' He said ayurvedic practitioners are available even in the remotest villages, however due to lack of awareness people don't seek their advice. This hospital and doctors need to be appreciated for being courageous to launch Ayurvedic hospital as they have come forward to provide treatment to people and not to mint money, which they could have easily done by starting an allopathic hospital, he added. Dr Rosaiah said Ayurveda is extremely popular in the 100 per cent literate state of Kerala, who realise its importance.The hospital is the first foray of the Earth Hospital group in the state.
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26,000 policemen deployed for Ganesh immersion

Hyderabad, Sep 19 : About 26,000 policemen will oversee the final Ganesh idols immersion ritual in Hussain Sagar lake here on September 22 amid tight security.

Prohibitory orders have been clamped in the city for that day, Hyderabad City Police Commissioner A K Khan told mediapersons here today.The Ganesh festival which began on Septemer 11 will conclude with a final immersion procession on September 22.About 13,000 idols were expected to be immersed and about 10 to 12 lakh people are expected to participate in the final procession. Along with four companies of RAF, about 625 officers and men had been deployed in Hyderabad city since September 6 as a part of arragements for Ramzan and Ganesh festivals. 272 hyper sensitive and 543 sensitive places were identified and pickets were posted there. 475 mobile parties will be moving in the area for smooth conduct of both the immersion.The City Security Wing of Hyderabad City Police will also deploy 30 Bomb Disposal Teams and 02 Access Control Teams each at Khairatabad Ganesh Pandal and Ganesh Temple, Secunderabad. The would be equipped with DFMDs, HFMDs, Prodder, Deep Search mine detector, under carriage mirror and explosive detectors. The Anti-Sabotage Teams will also use the services of 30 sniffer dogs. The City Security Wing of Hyderabad City Police will also utilize the services of 80 Special Police Officers (Ex. Army Men) in their anti-sabotage checks. Other anti-sabotage measures will include vehicle checking and frisking at entry points to the city, at important junctions and crowded places like railway station, bus Stations, shopping malls, cinema Halls, hotels and restaurants.
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Final year B Tech student killed by classmate

Hyderabad, Sep 19 : A final year B Tech student of a private Engineering college in Nalgonda district on the outskirte of the city was fatally bludgeoned by her classmate at his house in Vanasthalipuram in the city tonigth.The girl identified as Divya was from Kolkata.The Boy Sekhar Reddy reportedly from Nelgonda district was staying along with his relatives. His parents stayed in Mumbai.Police said the girl was killed after being hit on her head with a Base ball-Hockey stick.The body has been sent for postmortem.Initial report suggested that the girl was raped before being killed. The boy was absconding after reportedly sending an SMS to his parents that he would ''end his life'' because of the incident.
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Rain in Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Rayalaseema for next 48 hours

Hyderabad, Sept 19 : Light to moderate rain or thundershowers would occur at a few places over Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Rayalaseema over the next 48 hours.For subsequent two days no change was expected.The sky would be generally cloudy for Hyderabad and neighbourhood. Rain or thundershowers may occur in parts of city during the next two days. Tje Maximum and Minimum temperatures would bearound 33 and 22 degree celsius.Observations recorded till 0830 hours this morning: occurred at a few places over Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.Isolated rain occurred over Rayalaseema.The chief amounts of rainfall recorded in cm are Ramagundam, Chinnoor (Adilabad dist) 6 each, Manthani (Karimnagar dist) 5, Bhimadole (West Godavari dist), Kalwakurthy (Mahabubnagar dist), Nuzvid (Krishna dist) 4 each, Mahabubnagar, Dowlaiswaram (East Godavari dist), Eturnagaram and Narsampet (both Warangal dist), Mancherial (Adilabad dist), Palakonda (Srikakulam dist), Parvathipuram (Vizianagaram dist), Suryapet (Nalgonda dist), Yemmiganur (Kurnool dist) 3 each, Nandigama, Nagarjunasagar Dam and Ramannapet (both Nalgonda dist), Patapatnam (Srikakulam dist), Sultanabad (Karimnagar dist) 2 each and Bhadrachalam, Guntur, Kakinada, Khammam, Machilipatnam, Narsapur, Asifabad and Luxettipet (both Adilabad dist), Dummagudem (Khammam dist), Eluru and Tadepalligudem (both West Godavari dist), Gudivada, Paleru Bridge and Tiruvuru (all Krishna dist), Huzurabad, Jagitiyal and Kaleswaram (all Karimnagar dist), Kodangal and Nagarkurnool (both Mahabubnagar dist), Koilkuntla (Kurnool dist), Mahabubabad (Warangal dist), Palasa (Srikakulam dist), Tandur and Vikarabad (both Rangareddy dist) one each, the bulletin said.
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Student group calls for anti-Telangana protests

Hyderabad, Sep 19 : Andhra Pradesh is again witnessing protests and counter-protests over the demand for separate statehood to Telangana with a students' body calling for demonstrations in universities in Andhra and Rayalaseema regions from Sep 21.

The Samaikhya Andhra students' Joint Action Committee (JAC), which is opposed to the demand for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, has called for protests to counter "increasing attacks by Telangana activists". The call comes on the heels of attacks on lecturers from the two regions at Osmania University here, the stone pelting on convoys of ministers and a massive protest by Telangana lawyers paralysing work at the high court. JAC convenor Krishna Yadav told reporters at Nellore Sunday that Samaikhya Andhra or united Andhra flags would be hoisted in the universities Sep 22. His announcement came a day after Congress legislators from Andhra and Rayalaseema called on Director General of Police Aravinda Rao seeking protection for people from the two regions settled in Hyderabad. The legislators led by government whip Shailajanath voiced concern over the increasing violent acts by supporters of a separate Telangana against people from other regions. The legislators have also urged Chief Minister K. Rosaiah to take steps to protect people of Andhra and Rayalaseema. They referred to the incidents at the high court where Telangana lawyers, demanding 42 percent share in the posts of judicial officers, attacked court hall Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy. The JAC leader said it was a matter of concern that Telangana students too were carrying out attacks. They chased and manhandled teachers from the two regions at Osmania University here Aug 28, demanding that their examination papers be valuated by teachers from Telangana. The Telangana activists were also accused of resorting to violence while protesting against the conduct of Group I examination of the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission Sep 5. They disrupted the exam at a few centres, demanding the commission to reserve 42 percent posts for Telangana. The pro-Telangana groups are also disrupting the visits of ministers and other political leaders from Andhra and Rayalaseema. The convoys of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu and at least two ministers were stoned by the activists in Telangana during the last few days. Political analysts say the Telangana groups want to keep the pot boiling till the Srikrishna Committee submits its report to the central government by Dec 31. The committee was constituted by the central government in February to study the issue after violent protests for and against a separate Telangana rocked the state for nearly three months.
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