Assembly elections in Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand in February

Indo-Asian News Service

New Delhi Elections to pick new assemblies in Bihar, Haryana and Jharkhand will be held between Feb. 3 and 23. Chief Election Commissioner T.S. Krishna Murthy said all 90 constituencies in Haryana will go to the polls on Feb. 3, while Bihar and Jharkhand will witness staggered elections on Feb. 3, 15 and 23.

The votes polled in all three states using electronic voting machines will be counted on Feb. 27 and the election process completed by March 5.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission on Dec. 22 lodged nine formal complaints against Bihar’s ruling Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for alleged violation of the code of conduct for polls.

Police officials said the complaints were filed against the RJD, whose president and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad is facing a separate charge of bribing voters.



Army officer sacked for faking killings to win bravery award

Indo-Asian News Service

New Delhi - An Indian Army major, accused of staging “killings” of Pakistani soldiers on the Siachen glacier to win a bravery award, was sacked on Dec. 21 and sentenced to three years’ rigorous imprisonment by a military court.

Major Surinder Singh was accused of staging fake battles on the world’s highest and coldest battlefield in August-September last year to win a gallantry award from the government.

Singh was the second army officer to be dismissed this year for faking battles to win awards, a development that greatly embarrassed the force. In November, Col. H.S. Kohli, commanding officer of an artillery regiment in Assam, was dismissed and an unnamed major stripped off five years of service after a court martial found them guilty of taking photographs of civilians posing as dead terrorists to win gallantry awards.

Ex-Andhra minister sentenced to life in double murder case

Indo-Asian News Service

Hyderabad - Former Andhra Pradesh minister and Telugu Desam Party leader Ram Subba Reddy and seven others were on Dec. 22 sentenced to life imprisonment in a double murder case. Sessions Judge Rajagopal Reddy awarded the sentence in a case relating to the murder of two Congress activists at Shadnagar in Mahaboobnagar district in December 1990.

Ram Subba Reddy, who was elected from the Jammalmadugu constituency in Cuddapah 1994, served as housing minister in the N. Chandrababu Naidu government from 1995-2004. Tension prevailed at the Nampally Criminal Court as his supporters raised slogans in support of Reddy, claiming that he was innocent. “I have nothing do with the case. I will decide the future course of action after consulting my lawyer and I am convinced that I will get justice,” Reddy said.