Quicktakes — CBI has proof against Rao, others

NAVAL DUNIYA: Actress-VJ-singer Rageshwaari Loomba, singing a number from her debut album Duniya on board the ship `Vikrant', during the fu...

NAVAL DUNIYA: Actress-VJ-singer Rageshwaari Loomba, singing a number from her debut album Duniya on board the ship `Vikrant’, during the function of Western Naval Fleet, held in recognition of outstanding performance by the Fleet, on Saturday in Mumbai.

NEW DELHI: The CBI yesterday strongly pleaded in a trial court that charges of criminal conspiracy and forgery be framed against former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao, former Union minister K K Tiwari, Chandraswami and his aide K N Aggarwal alias “mamaji” in the St Kitts forgery case.

CBI counsel C Sahay told additional sessions judge Ajit Bharihoke that there was enough evidence to prosecute the accused under section 195 CRPC for criminal conspiracy and under section 467 with 469 for substantive offences committed by forging documents in a bid to malign the image of Janata Dal leader V P Singh. During the inconclusive reply on framing of charges, which would resume on May 13, CBI counsel however did not provide categorical replies to clarifications sought by the judge.

Gas kills 3

MIDNAPORE: Three persons of the same family were killed and two others fell seriously ill when poisonous gas erupted during the digging of a well at Arjunnagar village. The death was caused by asphyxiation, police sources said.

Naxals kill leader

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HYDERABAD: Naxalites belonging to the banned People’s War Group (PWG) shot dead a Marxist Communist Party of India (MCPI) leader Marri Venkatiah at Gurajala village in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh, yesterday. A group of armed PWG Naxalites stormed the residence of Venkatiah and pumped bullets into him while he was reading a newspaper, police said here. He was also president of Gurajala Single Windo Coop Society. The motive for his killing was not immediately known.

Shot dead

CALCUTTA: Car-borne gunmen shot dead a CITU leader near the India Jute Mill gate at Srirampore in West Bengal’s Hooghly district yesterday. The incident caused considerable tension in the entire industrial belt. Mohan Dutta, a CITU leader of the jute mill, was accosted by four assailants as he was on his way to the factory and was shot from point blank range. Factory workers took him to the Walsh Hospital where he died.

Bidhuri joins BSP

NEW DELHI: Delhi MLA, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, quit the Congress party and joined the Bahujan Samaj Party accusing the Congress of “systematically taking all steps compromising the interests of weaker sections.” Announcing this at a press conference in the presence of BSP chief, Kanshi Ram here, Bidhuri charged the Congress leadership with being “neck deep in corruption and criminal cases.”