Crude bombs thrown at TV channel’s office
Chennai: Suspected members of a fringe right-wing outfit today threw crude bombs at the local office of a popular Tamil TV news channel over a proposed interactive show on ‘Thaali’ (Mangal Sutra), drawing widespread condemnation from media bodies and political parties which termed it as an attack on freedom of expression. Four motorcycle-borne men hurled two crude bombs packed in tiffin boxes early Thursday but no one was injured in the attack caught on CCTV cameras, police said. A senior police official said police teams had zeroed in on the culprits and they would be arrested soon. (PTI)
Doctors remove 15 Kg tumour from woman
Lucknow: Doctors at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences here have removed a malignant tumour weighing 15 kg from the uterus of a 62-year old woman. The tumour is among the biggest ones recorded in the country. A team of surgeons led by gynaecologist Deepa Kapoor besides teams of Urology and Gastro-surgery departments of the Institute came together during the complicated surgery to remove the tumour known as “large ovarian cyst”, which is the biggest-ever recorded in Uttar Pradesh. 62-year old Savitri Devi (named changed) from back of the beyond district of Siddharth Nagar in Uttar Pradesh had been complaining of swelling in her stomach and pain associated with it from the last two months. Despite going to a number of doctors in the district and nearby Gorakhpur, her troubles remained unsolved. Finally she travelled to nearly 300 kilometres to reach SGPGI where a detailed diagnosis was done. “The tumour had not manifested itself that well in the diagnostic tests. We had no idea that it will weigh over 15 kg. It was only during the surgery that we realised the size of the tumour,” Kapoor told PTI over phone. (PTI)
Bharat Ratna medals ordered by MHA were for Prez museum: RTI
New Delhi: The five Bharat Ratna medallions ordered by the Home Ministry, which fuelled speculation in the media about the latest honorees’ list, were not meant to be awarded and were for display in the newly-opened President’s Secretariat museum, reveals an RTI query. The order for five medals in the middle of last year had fuelled speculation that the nation’s highest civilian award would be given to as many persons with several names, including that of revolutionary leader Subhash Chandra Bose, doing the rounds. However, according to the rules, the number of Bharat Ratna awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular year. The recommendation for Bharat Ratna is made by the prime minister himself to the President. Ending all speculation, the response to the RTI query filed by Subhash Agrawal says that the President’s office had requested original medals of the civilian and gallantry awards for display at a new museum which has opened at Rashtrapati Bhavan. (PTI)
No move to introduce compulsory voting in country: Govt
New Delhi: The government today said it has not initiated any action to introduce compulsory voting in the country. Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda told Lok Sabha in a written reply that no action in this regard has been initiated. His response came in the backdrop of the matter being referred to the Law Commission. The law panel in its report submitted to the government Thursday is learnt to have opposed compulsory voting. During the Winter session of Parliament, Gowda had told the Lok Sabha on December 4 that “At present, no proposal is under consideration of the government for mandatory voting in general elections”. Last year, Gujarat had passed the Gujarat Local Authorities Laws 2009, which made voting mandatory and ensured 50 per cent reservation for women in local bodies. (PTI)