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September 3, 2008 ENCOUNTER COPS From: MRITYUNJAY BOSE Last Sunday when at the stroke of 1 am, when Pradeep Sharma heard the knock at the door of his flat, he had no idea what was coming. When he opened the door, he was shocked – he found that he has been dismissed from the Mumbai Police, which he served for more than 25 years. The reason – links with underworld. Like Sharma – several of his trigger-happy colleagues and contemporaries are booked in some or the other cases or totally sidelines within the force barring a few. During their heydays, these "encounter specialists" together killed more than 700 criminals of different gangs - now-a-days, they just kill time. They were the poster-boys of Mumbai Police and performed the role of "Dirty Harry", came to be eulogized as "encounter specialists" or "encounter cops" and earned sobriquets like "super cops" – but today if one rewinds to the period of late nineties and compare with the pr

September 1, 2008From: Mrityunjay Bose MUMBAI POLICE Marked improvement in response timeReaches crime spot in seven minutes; inching towards the international standard Mumbai: In a major achievement for Mumbai police - which is ranked next only to Scotland Yard in crime detection, the city cops have improved the response time to nearly seven minutes - inching towards the international standard of five minutes."The response time is a major factor in policing. In Hindi films we often see the police arriving once everything is over," joint commissioner of police (law and order) K L Prasad said. "We need to reach the scene fast, though in some real cases, it may not happen," he added.Prasad said that as far as the best was concerned - in Mumbai in some cases it is two to three minutes, while the maximum was 12 to 13 minutes. "On an average, the response time that we currently have is six-and-a-half-minutes to seven minutes," he said, pointing out that internat

September 7, 2008 From: Mrityunjay Bose Centre approves upgrading of Mumbai museum MUMBAI: The Centre has given approval to the Rs 12.43 crore financial assistance for the upgradation and modernization of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, earlier known as Prince of Wales Museum. The Ministry of Culture, Government of India will spent the amount during 2008-10. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (formerly Prince of Wales Museum of Western India) situated in a heritage precinct known as the "Crescent Site" is one of the more important Museums of the country and a prime cultural institution of the city of Mumbai. The building is declared as an A grade heritage building by the Heritage Committee of Mumbai and is in itself an attraction for the visitors. The building is situated in an area of about 3 acres covering a built up area of 12,142.23 sq.m. The Museum began its modernization program seven years ago to keep pace with the changing needs a

September 9, 2008 From: Mrityunjay Bose MOBILE TRACKER Your cell phone can be managed remotely! Mumbai: Those whose mobile phones have been lost or stolen will narrate how much data and telephone numbers they have lost. But now one can overcome this fear - Mumbai-based Micro Technologies (India) Ltd on Tuesday launched Micro Mobile Controller System (MMCS), a software that can remotely manage your cell phone. India is adding somewhere around eight to 10 million mobile connections every month and according to estimates total connections are likely to reach 600 million by 2011. The flip side of such an unprecedented growth in the number of mobile phone users is an equally unprecedented growth in instances of lost and stolen mobile phones. "MCCS above all existing features gives an extraordinary back up facility of contact details to the registered user," says Mukund Gupta, COO, Micro Technologies. The software manages the mobile handset with the help of an add on recipient mobi

September 29, 2008From: Mrityunjay Bose RESEARCH REPORT - 'Prevent Urali-Devachi from being a toxic Mumbai/Pune: The solid waste dumped by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) at the landfill at Urali-Devachi village in Pune district threatens to make it a 'toxic bomb' in future - and efforts needed to be initiated to convert waste into fertilizer, according to a new research report. The site is being used since 1983 - more than two decades now and 1,000 to 1,200 tonnes of garbage is disposed at Urali-Devachi everyday. The report published in the latest issue of 'Current Science' reveals the problems of air and groundwater pollution caused due to unscientific disposal of solid waste at Urali-Devachi village.Ragpickers, workers, vehicle drivers, and those residing in the nearby areas of the village are continuously exposed to air pollution. It has been found that leachates originate from solid waste landfill-contaminated groundwater. Well water found in Urali-Devachi

November 17, 2008 BLUETOOTH WONDER Blue-tooth installed at Siddhivinayak, Mahalaxmi temples Mumbai: Now one can receive pictures of Gods and Goddess, bhajans and security instructions free on their bluetooth-enabled cellphones when they visit the famous Siddhivinayak, Mahalaxmi and Mumbadevi temples. Similar technology is also being used at the malls to attract a clientele. "This is probably one of the best ways to send messages to devotees and buyers. And the message is free because the revenue model is interesting," says Anshuman Sharma of Equifone Solutions Pvt Ltd, which has installed these devices. Moreover, those who don't want the messages on their cellphones, would not get – and would not be disturbed. The service works on Bluetooth technology and creates a Bluetooth zone where visitors can download infotainment content like live news, weather, stocks, games, ringtones, movie clips, themes etc. on their mobile phones free of cost. "In this case our revenue mo

November 17, 2008 SADHVI ALLEGES TORTURE I wanted to end my life after being beaten: Pragya Mumbai: One of the key conspirators of the September 29 Malegaon blast, sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur alias Purnachetananadagiri on Monday said that she was beaten up so badly by officials of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) that she thought of ending her life. At the same time, she also alleged that the arrests were politically motivated - and also accused the investigating agency of illegally detaining her. "I was physically and verbally traumatized to the extent that I wanted to commit suicide," the sadhvi said in her affidavit filed before chief judicial magistrate of Nashik. Her LML Freedom was used in the blast and according to ATS, she was part of the conspiracy to carry out the blast that claimed five lives and injured more than 50 others at the weavers' town of Malegaon.She alleged in the seven-page affidavit that she was verbally abused and severely beat with a belt on hands,

June 24, 2008 E-cigarettes will help you quit smoking now MRITYUNJAY BOSE Mumbai: Now e-cigarettes are also set to zoom into the Indian market – and these will help you quit smoking. Though already into existence in United States, United Kingdom, China, Turkey and several other countries, e-cigarettes are now available in the country. E-cigarettes are non-inflammable electronic gadget – and works on an extremely scientific principle. Chennai-based firm, SPK has already launched e-cigarettes it in the southern parts of the country on May 31, the World No Tobacco Day. "Now we are looking at having the product all over the country," Sunil Kumar, the proprietor of the company, told 'Sakaal Times' on Tuesday from Chennai. "For quitting smoking you need will power, our product helps us quit smoking in a phased manner," Kumar said. "On the business side, the product is going to have a very good demand in India," he said. It is a sort of a technology inten

July 15, 2008 Simulated launch of Chandrayan-1 at Nehru Centre Mumbai: India's mission to Moon will now be simulated at the Nehru Planetarium at Worli here – where people can experience the launch on Chandrayan-1 on the sky theatre. The simulated launch is part of "Conquest of the Moon & Secrets of the Sun" is the 33rd in the production line of this planetarium, which would be unveiled on Thursday. "It gives the viewer a great experience," Nehru Planetarium's Programme Coordinator Suhas B Naik-Satam told 'Sakaal Times'. "It is a new concept and it appears that the viewer is part of the launch," he said, adding that the simulated launch lasts for nearly 10 minutes. Chandrayan-1 is expected to be launched in September this year by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The programme describes the Moon's physical parameters, orbit, phases; eclipses and related misconceptions; tides; nakshatras and commemorates the landing of man on

July 9 From: Mrityunjay Bose RURAL HOUSEHOLD Now a stove that cooks and reduce air : In an effort to address the increasing and harmful impact of indoor air pollution in India, a range of clean burning biomass cooking stoves will be introduced in the country. Designed by an international team of globally recognised scientists and engineers, the stoves reduce toxic emissions by as much as 80 per cent while using 50 per cent less fuel and reducing cooking cycle time by 40 per cent. The cooking stoves have been developed as a result of a partnership between Envirofit and Shell Foundation (UK), initially launched in 2007, to engineer and deliver clean burning biomass stoves that are affordable and attractive to people, who are impacted by indoor air pollution (IAP). "Biomass (wood, crop waste and animal dung) is likely to remain the primary cooking fuel for a large majority of rural Indian households for many years to come. Against this background and the alarming number of annual ind

Cochin to host boat event MRITYUNJAY BOSE Mumbai: The Cochin Port is getting ready for a unique maritime regalia - for it would be hosting the India stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09. It is for the first time in the 35-year history of the race, regarded as the ultimate in ocean racing competition that an Indian port has been chosen for the stopover. The race is scheduled to stop over in Kochi for 10 days, from December 3 to 13, according to Cochin Port Trust officials. The race is the ultimate in world-class water-sporting competition on the extreme edge of adventure, drama and endurance. The participants of the race, several of them are Olympians, require physical endurance and sheer grit of the highest order to deal with life at the extreme, as they race day and night for more than 20 days at a stretch in some of the legs, facing potential dangers such as gales and storms, icebergs, ocean debris and the whales! The race will commence its round-the-world marathon sailing in Oct

August 7, 2008 FORCE-MULTIPLIERS Private guards to gather intelligence CCTVs and dogs to maintain vigil during Ganpati Mumbai: With terrorist activities increasing in urban centres, private security guards will now be treated as force-multipliers and would help men in uniform in intelligence gathering. They have been instructed to maintain a discreet watch in their surroundings and report anything suspicious to their heads and pass it on to the police. Over the last few days, members of Security Association of India (SAI) has met officials of Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai police, where several issues related to beefing up intelligence machinery were discussed. "We would play a very proactive role in gathering information and help the police," Gurcharan Singh Chauhan, the SAI president, told Sakaal Times on Thursday. SAI has already met Deputy Commissioner of Police (Headquarters), Pravin Pawar in Navi Mumbai, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-I), Sahebrao Patil in Thane. Th

August 19, 2008 From: Mrityunjay Bose TERROR LINK Blasts in Mumbai in past had Pune linksAccused had SIMI links Mumbai/Pune: With terror-busters hunting for operatives of Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) operatives in Pune and deactivate sleeper cells in the wake of July 26 serial blasts in Ahmedabad and recovery of live bombs in Surat, one thing has become clear - Maharashtra's culture city is not immune to the presence of terrorists and their sympathisers. In the recent past - in two major bomb blasts cases - accused had been arrested from Pune. In the July 11, 2006 chain blasts in Mumbai's suburban trains - one Suhail Shaikh was arrested from Pune, who was a close friend of absconder Rizwan Daware, who had channelised funds from the Gulf for the blasts. Shaikh was a resident of Bhipmura, Lashkar area, Camp, Pune. Another accused in the same case, Abdul Wahid Din Mohammed Shaikh was also from Pune and he used to stay in Nanapeth, Bhawanipeth areas. Daware (also spelt