Veteran freedom fighter Lakshmi Sehgal dead

Kanpur:  Lakshmi Sehgal, a close associate of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and the first head of the women's wing of the Azad Hind Fauj, died around 11.20 a.m. Monday at a private hospital in Kanpur, her family said. She was 97.

She was in coma for the past three days after suffering a massive heart attack. The family announced that Sehgal had donated her body for medical research. Sehgal's daughter Subhashini Ali, a former member of parliament, told IANS that the family had decided to switch off the ventilator after doctors advised that her revival was impossible. "We switched off the ventilator at around 11 am and she passed away at around 11.20 a.m.," Ali said. The body would be kept for people to pay their respects at her house in Mac Robertsganj and would be taken in a procession Tuesday to the S.N. Medical College, Ali said. Doctors attending on Sehgal said that her vital parametres had slowed down since Saturday and all efforts to revive her failing organs had failed. She slipped into coma thereafter.

Ramdev sits on dharna against Balkrishna's arrest

Yoga Guru Ramdev on Saturday staged a dharna in protest against the arrest of his aide Balkrishna accusing the Centre of misusing the CBI to harass nationalist people.
He also vowed to fight blackmoney and corruption through a renewed agitation which would start from August 9 in New Delhi and said he would continue to fight for bringing back Rs 400 lakh crore of blackmoney stashed abroad.
“Acharya Balkrishna is not a terrorist or a criminal, rather he has honestly worked for the welfare of crores of people through his knowledge on Ayurveda. We are standing by him on moral grounds,” Ramdev said at Lachhiwala area where he was stopped by the police.
Later, Ramdev sat on a dharna in front of the CBI office to protest against the arrest of Balkrishna.
He criticized the Centre for misusing their investigative agencies for harassing people, who dedicated their lives for the sake of people.
“The centre is using the CBI as its puppet,” he said.
Regarding the allegations on his aide Acharya Balkrishna for obtaining passport on fake documents, Ramdev claimed that Nepalese government has already communicated to India that Balkrishna is not a Nepalese citizen.
Ramdev said he was not scared of any investigation against him as well as his trust.
“I am not scared. Only those people should be scared who have stashed the country's money in foreign banks,” he said.

 

CBI arrests Ramdev's aide Balkrishna

Dehradun: The CBI has arrested yoga guru Ramdev's aide Balkrishna. Earlier, a non-bailable warrant was issued against him by a special CBI court here on Friday after he failed to appear before it in the alleged fake documents case.

The CBI, on July 10, had filed a chargesheet in a special court here against Balkrishna in a case relating to alleged submission of alleged fake and forged documents to obtain an Indian passport. In its chargesheet, the CBI also accused the then principal of Sanskrit Mahavidayala, Khurja in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly helping Balkrishna obtain fake educational certificates. The agency booked the duo under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery, and imposed additional charge for the alleged violation of the Passport Act against Balkrishna. "It was alleged in the complaint that the accused had wrongfully obtained an Indian passport. Inquiry established that the accused in connivance with some unknown persons has furnished false information and forged documents to the Passport office at Bareilly (UP) for getting an Indian passport issued," the CBI spokesperson said.

                      India loses its first Superstar

Actor Rajesh Khanna has died at home in Mumbai. He was 69. Mr Khanna was suffering from cancer.
Mr Khanna will be cremated tomorrow morning at 11.30am. His bungalow, Aashirwad, on Carter Road in Bandra has been cordoned off by the police. Mr Khanna's son-in-law, actor Akshay Kumar, addressed the press and asked fans to pray for the late star. Mr Khanna had been hospitalised on June 23, when he was taken to Lilavati Hospital to be treated for exhaustion, and spent some days having tests. He was discharged just yesterday. Worried fans had lined up outside Aashirwad on June 21 when Mr Khanna was said to have stopped eating. He was later reported to be "more than fine" by son-in-law, actor Akshay Kumar. Mr Khanna himself appeared on his balcony, visibly weak and wearing dark glasses, to wave at his fans and give them the victory sign. Mr Khanna had also been hospitalized for a few days in April this year. Mr Khanna's ex-wife, actress Dimple Kapadia, has nursed him through his illness. They have two daughters together - Twinkle, who is expecting her second child with husband Akshay Kumar, and Rinke who is married to businessman Sameer Saran. Mr Khanna was the top actor in Bollywood during the Seventies and early Eighties, and is considered to be it's first real superstar. He was the star of romantic comedies and dramas such as Anand, Aradhana and Kati Patanag. He won three Filmfare awards in his long career. Mr Khanna also held a Lok Sabha seat as a Congressman from 1992-1996. A host of politicians, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, joined Bollywood celebrities in expressing their grief over Mr Khanna's death.

Govt not in mood to end corruption: Anna, Ramdev

Pune: Ahead of their proposed protests in Delhi, Anna Hazare and yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Tuesday launched an attack on the UPA government, accusing it of not showing enough resolve in tackling corruption and bringing back black money stashed away abroad.

 Hazare and Baba Ramdev said they will support each other in the fight. Team Anna is launching an indefinite protest from July 25 at Jantar Mantar while Baba Ramdev's protest starts from August 9 at Ramlila Maidan, both in the national capital. "Baba Ramdev is fighting to bring back black money. We are demanding a strong Lokpal to fight corruption. But the government has no intention to do so. They do not have the will power.

"Why efforts are not being taken to bring black money stashed abroad? There may be people in government who have hidden black money. This may be the reason. What is preventing them from taking action?" Mr Hazare told reporters in Pune today. On his part, Baba Ramdev said people have been waiting for a strong Lokpal and bringing back black money for over a year but the "government has time and again hoodwinked public". "The intention of the government to bring a strong Lokpal does not seem to be right. So now a decision has to be made till what time you have to go on with agitation, how we can get a strong Lokpal Bill and how we can bring back black money," Baba Ramdev said.

A bulb in Britain glowing for 100 years

Defying the 1,000-hour life expectancy of a light-bulb, the one shining in a Briton’s porch is believed to have been glowing for last 100 years. The 230-volt, 55-watt DC Osram bulb was reportedly made in July 1912, just months after the Titanic sank. “At this rate, it’ll burn for ever!” said 74-year-old Owner Roger Dyball about the bulb which still lights his porch in Lowestoft, Suffolk.

The bulb had already been in place at Dyball’s home near Lowestoft, in Suffolk, when he and his wife Patricia moved in 45 years ago, The Sun reported. “We found it with its original fittings when we moved here in 1967 and it has never gone out,” said Dyball.

Dyball was so intrigued by the bulb manufactured in Wembley, North London that he wrote a letter to company Osram-GEC’s London head office with its serial number and other details. Osram worked out its date of manufacture and gave him a special certificate. In a reply, dating back to January 30, 1968, the company said the bulb was manufactured sometime in July 1912. Britain’s oldest working bulb was found at Margate, Kent, in 2008. Experts estimated it was made in 1895 -- 15 years after US genius Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.

Modern bulbs last an average 1,000 hours before conking out.