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Bail for Union Carbide chief challenged

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NK SINGH Bhopal: A local lawyer has moved the court seeking cancellation of the absolute bail granted to Mr. Warren Ander son, chairman of the Union Carbide Corporation, whose Bhopal pesticide plant killed over 2,000 persons last December. Mr. Anderson, who was arrested here in a dramatic manner on December 7 on several charges including the non-bailable Section 304 IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), was released in an even more dramatic manner and later secretly whisked away to Delhi in a state aircraft. The local lawyer, Mr. Quamerud-din Quamer, has contended in his petition to the district and sessions judge of Bhopal, Mr. V. S. Yadav, that the police had neither authority nor jurisdiction to release an accused involved in a heinous crime of mass slaughter. If Mr. Quamer's petition succeeds, it may lead to several complications, including diplomatic problems. The United States Government had not taken kindly to the arrest of the head of one of its most powerful mul...
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Bail for Union Carbide chief challenged

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NK SINGH Bhopal: A local lawyer has moved the court seeking cancellation of the absolute bail granted to Mr. Warren Ander son, chairman of the Union Carbide Corporation, whose Bhopal pesticide plant killed over 2,000 persons last December. Mr. Anderson, who was arrested here in a dramatic manner on December 7 on several charges including the non-bailable Section 304 IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), was released in an even more dramatic manner and later secretly whisked away to Delhi in a state aircraft. The local lawyer, Mr. Quamerud-din Quamer, has contended in his petition to the district and sessions judge of Bhopal, Mr. V. S. Yadav, that the police had neither authority nor jurisdiction to release an accused involved in a heinous crime of mass slaughter. If Mr. Quamer's petition succeeds, it may lead to several complications, including diplomatic problems. The United States Government had not taken kindly to the arrest of the head of one of its most powerful mul...
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Carbide Men demand alternative jobs

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NK SINGH BHOPAL: A delegation of the Union Carbide Employees Union, led by Mr Madanlal Ranji, waited on the Chief Minister, Mr Motilal Vora, here on Saturday and presented a memorandum demanding alternative jobs for the Carbide employees. The union suggested that the Union Carbide factory should be nationalised so that jobs were guaranteed to the employees. The memorandum, according to a union press note, also suggested that instead of closing down the factory it should be converted into a non- hazardous products manufacturing concern. April 21, 1985 Indian Express
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MP government bans purchases due to financial crisis

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NK SINGH Bhopal:  The Madhya Pradesh Government has imposed a ban on all sorts of purchases in all departments in view of the alarming financial crisis existing in the state. The ban, it is reliably learnt. will remain in force till May 15. The ban, however, would not cover labour wages, salary, hospitals, hostels and essential services. According to official sources, circulars to this effect have been issued in view of the financial crisis Last week, the state Government was on the brink of bankruptcy as the cheques and bills issued by it were dishonoured by banks following the refusal of the Reserve Bank the overdraft to increase limit. April 25, 1985 Indian Express
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Famine, drought threaten MP

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NK SINGH Bhopal: The shadow of famine and death looms large over vast areas of Madhya Pradesh. Though there are no reports of  starvation deaths yet, a massive exodus of hungry farm workers and impoverished peasants has started from Chhattisgarh and the tribal districts of Dhar and Jhabua in West Madhya Pradesh. Reports, official as well as unofficial, reaching the state capital from districts paint a grim picture of desolution and destitution in the countryside. An erratic monsoon last year and almost total failure of winter rain have caused an unprecedented water scarcity in all the 45 districts of the state. Even more alarming is the apprehension in some circles that the drinking water scarcity may lead to an outbreak of epidemics. Every seventh village in the state suffers from an acute water crisis. Over 10,000 villages have been officially declared 'problem villages'. Residents of these villages have to walk to 10 km to get a pitcher of drinking water. The seriousness of ...
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Bhopal Gas Disaster commission calls for expediency

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NK SINGH Bhopal: Justice N. K. Singh who is heading the single-member judicial commission inquiring into the Bhopal gas leak disaster, on Friday appealed to participating parties, not to upon valuable time of the commission by making inter-locatory applications without much substance. "Such a course of action, if continued indefinitely, is likely to defeat or delay the main object of this commission," he remarked. Monetary compensation, he said, was a poor substitute for the loss of lives and whatever had to be done should be done as expeditiously as possible. Before adjourning the proceedings of the commission till May 15. Justice Singh also warned that constant vigilance would be necessary for a considerable period to ensure that any section of people, "particularly those in the ruling echelon", do not do anything which prima facie appears to be improper, unjust or unpalatable. The commission also ordered that three members of the Delhi Science Forum, who were on ...
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MP to provide mid day meals to 15 lakh kids

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NK SINGH Bhopal: The MP Government has prepared a plan to provide mid-day meals to 14.86. lakh tribal students in the age group of six to 14 years during the Seventh Plan The mid-day meals program was started in 1966 for students of the tribal welfare department schools in the age group of six to 14 years in 16 districts of the state. Three lakh students benefited from the program then. The number of beneficiaries has reached over eight now. The program has been implemented in all the 45 districts of the state now. There are 14,168 feeding centres April 18, 1985 Indian Express
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24 feared dead as bridge falls

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NK SINGH Bhopal: Over two dozen labourers, including women and children, were feared buried alive when a 40-foot span of a bridge under construction on a busy thoroughfare here collapsed on Monday. Special army and fire brigade rescue teams. helped by local volunteers, had rescued about six persons, including the construction contractor. from the debris by late night. Except the contractor, all of them are in a bad shape. The authorities were unable to say anything about the fate of the persons buried under the debris. It is feared that most of them were killed. Removing the debris was proving an uphill task although cranes were pressed into service. A crowd of over 5,000 persons had assembled around the collapsed bridge by late night. March 4, 1985 Indian Express
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Government slacking in gas victim matters

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NK SINGH The Madhya Pradesh Government appears to have forgotten that way back in December it had announced, with much fanfare, a judicial inquiry into the Bhopal gas leak disaster that had claimed over 2.000 lives. The terms of reference of the inquiry were announced on December 6, three days after the tragedy, and the single member commission, headed by Justice N. K. Singh of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, was asked to submit its report by March 15. The commission's report is no where in sight. In fact, it is yet to start its work in right earnest and its term has been extended till the end of June.  Justice N. K. Singh has accused the state government officials of non-cooperation. Earlier, when the press had criticized the delay in commencement of the inquiry, he had issued a statement pointing out that it was the delay on the part of the Government in providing the necessary working facilities which had hampered the functioning of the commission. On Wednesday, as the commission...
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Case against Karanth for bid to kill actress

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NK SINGH The Bhopal police on Sunday registered a case against Mr B. V. Karanth, director of the Madhya Pradesh Rangmandal, the state Government- backed repertory, in connection with the alleged attempt to murder a young and pretty actress of his troupe. The case, registered under sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of an offence or giving false information), has caused a sensation in the town, particularly in cultural circles. Mr Karanth, a prominent theatre personality, once headed the prestigious National School of Drama. He is also chairman of the MP Film Development Corporation, a state government undertaking. The actress, 27-year-old Ms Vibha Mishra, received near-fatal burns at her residence in the exclusive Professors' Colony on Saturday afternoon. Mr Karanth was allegedly present in the house when the incident took place, eyewitnesses and neighbours told the police. Ms Mishra, whose condition was described by doctors, as "precar...
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Art bodies resent Jayakar's nomination

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NK SINGH With the Vibha-Karanth affair taking a backseat over time, attention is now shifting toward Bharat Bhawan, the sprawling lakeside cultural complex that employed both principal figures in last month’s highly charged controversy, which left Miss Vibha with 80% burns. On Saturday, the Bharat Bhawan management formally announced an inquiry into the institution, to be conducted by one of its trustees, Mrs. Pupul Jayakar. However, several cultural organizations in the city strongly opposed this decision, likening it to “asking a thief to catch a thief.” A press note issued on behalf of the Bharat Bhawan Trust stated that any person or organization wishing to file complaints against Bharat Bhawan could send them “directly in a sealed cover” to Mrs. Jayakar by June 15.  Around two dozen cultural and literary organizations in the city have reacted sharply to the decision, criticizing the appointment of a trustee to investigate the trust’s affairs. These groups have been demanding a...
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The Karanth case

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                                               NK SINGH The dramatic arrest of the prominent 57-year-old theatre director, B. V. Karanth on a charge of attempting to burn to death Vibha Mishra, the pretty 27-year-old heroine of his drama troupe at Bhopal last week has rocked the world of art. He had joined Bharat Bhavan, the lake-side House of Arts' at Bhopal, four years ago.  Although Karanth has dabbled in films and produced nationally-acclaimed works like "Chomana Duddi" and "Kedu", he is better known as a theatre director and playwright. A diploma-holder from the National School of Drama, Delhi, and the Asian Theatre Institute, he started his career with the famous "Gubbi" company in his native Karnataka. He has directed world classics not only in, Kannada and Hindi, but also in Punjabi, Gujarati and Sanskrit. He was director of the prestigious National School...
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Jayakar to Probe Bharat Bhawan working

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                                       NK SINGH The Bharat Bhawan Trust has requested Mrs Papul Jayakar, the government of led nominee on the trust, to inquire into the allegations against the functioning of Bharat Bhawan, the multi-arts complex at Bhopal, and the trustee secretary, Mr Ashok Vajpeyi, a senior IAS officer. Disclosing this here on Thursday, the trust's chairman, Mr Arjun Singh, AIC- CIT) vice-president, told newsmen that Mrs Jayakar would conduct the in-house inquiry into the allegations level. Led in the wake of the Karanth affair, B. V. Karanth, one of the Bharat Bhawan trusters and director of its repertory, was arrested last month by the Bhopal police on the charge of trying to burn to death an actress of his drama troupe. Mr Arjun Singh, who came here on Thursday to attend an organisational meeting, also visited the lake-side bouse of arts and addressed a gathering of ...
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'Bharat Bhawan affair anti Arjun plot'

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NK SINGH The Bharat Bhawan controversy has taken a political turn, with one of its life trustees, noted painter J. Swami Nathan, launching a thinly veiled attack on the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Motilal Vora. The bearded painter said in a press interview that he apprehended a conspiracy by some "politically influential persons' behind the current "smear campaign" against Bharat Bhawan in the wake of the sensational Vibha-Karanth affair. In an obvious reference to the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Swaminathan said the "conspiracy" was aimed at Mr Arjun Singh, the AICC-I vice-president and Bharat Bhawan Trust chairman, and Mr Ashok Vajpeyi, the culture secretary of Madhya Pradesh and Bharat Bhawan's trustee-secretary. Mr Swaminathan, who was 'lured' to Madhya Pradesh during the regime of Mr Arjun Singh, is considered a supporter of the former chief minister. "We will quit the trust," he had earlier told newsmen when asked wha...
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Vibha Mishra brought to Delhi

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NK SINGH Ms Vibha Mishra, the stage actress who suffered serious burns in Bhopal, under controversial circumstances. Involving top theatre personality, B. V. Karanth, was on Saturday admitted to Safdarjung Hospital. Ms Mishra, who sustained severe burns and who has developed serious complications, was brought to Delhi by a special Madhya Pradesh Government aircraft on Saturday. Doctors who attended to her at Safdarjung Hospital described her condition as serious. However, they were making all efforts to save her life. Medical experts, however, wondered whether it was wise to transport a burns patient in such a serious condition from Bhopal to Delhi. In such cases, the journey could lead to deterioration in the patient's condition. Doctors attending to Ms Mishra at Safdarjung Hospital refused to comment on this issue. In an unprecedented gesture of generosity to a private citizen, the Madhya Pradesh Government provided the state plane for shifting the 27-year-old actress from Bhopal...
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Karanth-Vibha case: Waves of protest in Bhopal

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NK SINGH A wave of anger seemed to sweep through Bhopal, in the wake of the exposure of what appeared to be the tip of a sensational sex scandal involving, among others, Mr. B.V. Karanth, Director of Madhya Pradesh Rang Mandal, the State Government- backed repertory, and Chairman of the M.P. Film Development Corporation. The 57-year-old bearded and renowned theatre director, a recipient of Padma Shree in 1981, was arrested on Sunday night on the charge of attempting to burn to death 27-year-old Ms Vibha Mishra, the heroine of his drama troupe. The pretty Vibha's condition is reported to be critical. The town's indignation at the "sex-ploitation of female artists" at Bharat Bhawan was reflected on Tuesday in the forms of a day-long dharna by women in front of the State Government's prestigious multi-arts complex, a rally brought out by artists, writers, poets and female activists and a flood of statements issued by scores of social, cultural and women's organis...
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Karanth admits guilt

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NK SINGH The renowned drama director and chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Film Development Corporation, Mr B.V. Karanth, who was arrested on Sunday night on a charge of attempting to bum to death Ms Vibha Mishra, the heroine of several of his plays, was on Monday remanded to judicial custody till June 10. Karanth, who is one of the foremost theatre personalities in the country, reportedly broke down and "admitted his guilt" after the police intensively interrogated him for a couple of hours on Sunday night. In a tape-reconded statement on Monday morning, he also admitted his "illicit relationship with the victim who is on her death bed with 80 per cent burns in a local hospital," according to the police. "Yes, I have indeed admitted my guilt in a tape-recorded statement to the police", a calm and composed Karanth told ENS at Vibha Mishra's house, where he was brought by the police on Monday to help in the recovery of a rope with which the actress had all...
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Karanths release ends Bhawans stupor

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NK SINGH Bharat Bhawan, the controversial "House of Arts" at Bhopal, has started limping back to normalcy with the release on bail of B.V. Karanth—the noted drama director who was recently arrested on the charge of attempted murder. The lake-side multi-arts complex, constructed with public funds and run by a private trust headed by the ruling Congress (1) leader, Mr Arjun Singh, became the centre of unsavoury public attention in the wake of the sensational Vibha-Karanth affair. Normal functioning of the cultural complex was disturbed and the Bharat Bhawan repertory, Rangmandal, was almost paralysed following the arrest of its director, Karanth, and the serious burn injuries sustained by the leading actress of the troupe, Vibha Mishra. Over the last month, little had happened in Bharat Bhawan apart from two minor programmes and a campaign launched to defend the institution against public criticism. Now with Karanth back in action, Bharat Bhawan is restarting its cultural activ...
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MP government order for CBI probe sparks row

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NK SINGH The Madhya Pradesh Government on Thursday announced an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation to solve the mystery shrouding the death of a political worker at the residence of a leading Congress-1 MLA at Gwalior recently. The Government decision, taken amidst reports that the State CID investigations had proved that it was not a case of suicide but a case of murder, caused unprecedented pandemonium in the State Assembly. Slogan-shouting opposition stalled the proceedings of the House for over two hours, alleging that by handing over the case to the CBI at this stage, the Government was trying to shield the ruling party member involved in the case, Mr Ramashanker Singh. The body of Mr Rajesh Bhatnagar was found in the compound of Mr Ramashanker Singh's bungalow Gweher on the night of March 30. The bullet that killed him was allegedly fired from Mr Singh's revolver. The State Government's announcement regarding the CBI inquiry into the sensational case cause...
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