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Astrologer predicts own death, draws crowds

BHOPAL, Oct 20 - Hundreds of Indians flocked to a village in the central state of Madhya Pradesh on Thursday to see if an astrologer who forecast his own death would die as predicted.

Kunjilal Malviya, 75, who lives in Sehara village, about 200 km (125 miles) south of state capital Bhopal, was meditating in his house after announcing he would die on Thursday.

His family fears his forecast will come true.

�We are afraid of his prediction coming true because all his predictions till date have been correct,� his son Anirudh said by phone.

�My father had predicted the death of my grandfather 15 years ago and it came true exactly like he calculated.�

Television footage showed relatives and friends seated around Malviya, singing religious songs and reading Hindu texts.

Policemen have been posted near his house to prevent the astrologer from killing himself, authorities said. (Reuters)

Kasuri: Melt LoC forever

NEW DELHI, Oct. 20: Pakistan, which has proposed to open the Line of Control to facilitate free movement of the earthquake-hit families, would like this to become a permanent feature. Pakistan foreign minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri told this newspaper in an interview from Islamabad that �we will not place a time limit of weeks or months on this�, indicating that as far as his government was concerned, the passage across the LoC could remain open permanently.

Mr Kasuri said the spirit behind Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf�s proposal was to enable the Kashmiri families on both sides to meet and share their grief. He said it was now for experts from both India and Pakistan to meet and sort out the modalities. New Delhi has welcomed the move to open the LoC, but has said it is waiting for the formal proposal. Mr Kasuri said this will reach very soon, �if it has not reached already�.

Asked about the documents, he said that this, and other details, would be worked out by the ministries of home and external affairs of both India and Pakistan. Mr Kasuri said both sides should encourage free movement as much as possible. He said President Musharraf had outlined a policy to bring some relief to the divided families, who want to interact. Asked about reports appearing in the media about militants having supplanted the Army in relief operations, Mr Kasuri said the Pakistan Army was always there.

He said those who had been killed or injured in the earthquake had been replaced by more troops. The Army had taken over rescue and relief operations right from the beginning, he added. Mr Kasuri said he had no idea about the validity of these reports, but �if someone has a beard you cannot suspect him. I really do not know how much credibility you can attach to such reports�.

The opening of the LoC, while welcomed by the Manmohan Singh government, has been met with deep concern in the strategic establishment. Defense officials, too, are perturbed about the decision, particularly in the wake of the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba�s assertion that it will continue the �jihad�, and the recent terror attack in Srinagar that claimed the life of Jammu and Kashmir minister Ghulam Nabi Lone. President Musharraf�s suggestion has been welcomed by the Kashmiris as well as the international community, but is not seen as a �simple� decision by sections of the government here who are openly expressing worry about the possible consequences. (Deccan Chronicle)

Veerappan's wife launches tribal welfare organization

BANGALORE, Oct 20 � Muthulakshmi, widow of slain forest bandit Veerappan, betrayed political ambitions when she launched a new organization called "Movement for Tribal Welfare" to mark Veerappan's first death anniversary on Tuesday.

Announcing the formation of the organization after paying homage near the grave of Veerappan at Mulakkad on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border, Muthulakshmi said the main objective of the movement was to protect the rights of the tribals spread across the forests along the borders of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Muthulakshmi urged the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to make public the report of Justice Sadashiva Committee, which went into the alleged atrocities of the STF on the tribals, and provide compensation to the victims.

Though she clarified that she had no intention of taking a plunge into politics, Muthulakshmi placed a set of demands before the authorities, which gave all indications that she had a political career in mind. He demands were much the same placed by Veerappan during the abduction of matinee idol Dr Rajkumar during 2000. They include release of 205 tmc feet of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu every year, installation of Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar's idol in Bangalore and a second language status for Tamil in Karnataka.

One new demand incorporated into her charter of demands was the latest dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over Hogenakkal water falls.

Claiming that the disputed island was part of Tamil Nadu, Muthulakshmi said she was determined to fight till the Hogenakkal issue is settled in Tamil Nadu's favor.

Muthulakshmi was not alone in paying homage to Veerappan's grave. A host of Tamil nationalists and supporters of a few ultra-leftist groups participated in the death anniversary, seeking to glorify the slain bandit, who had killed more than 120 people.

Tamil Nationalist leaders P. Nedumaran, P. Kalyani, Ramaswamy and a host of others participated in the death anniversary. (Khaleej Times)

Mumbai Univ Dean of Commerce suspended

MUMBAI, Oct 20: University of Mumbai has suspended its Dean of Commerce Prof Vivek Deolankar after he was shown by a private television channel allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5000 from a student for admission to M Com.

The University has also submitted report along with the videocasette to the Bandra-Kurla police station and even asked them to treat it as an FIR and investigate the case in the best interest of the university and the student community, reports Indian News Agency PTI, quoting Pro Vice-Chancellor Dr A D Sawant.

"We have given the report also to the Anti-corruption Bureau to follow the case," he said.

The University has put up a notice about Deolankar's suspension and his room and house have been sealed, he said.

Meanwhile, both police and the university are waiting for Deolankar to surface as he has been absconding after the television channel aired him accepting the amount in its show on October 6.

Sawant said, once he comes back "we will begin the departmental inquiry which is a mandatory procedure."