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-Lurid Crime Tales-

Policewoman's marriage proposal traps wanted dacoit in India

2019-12-01

[KhaleejTimes] A woman police officer's matrimonial offer - a ploy to trap a wanted criminal - in Madhya Pradhesh's Chhatarpur Naugaon block has earned kudos for the officer. Balkrishna Chaubey (55) has been a headache for Madhya Pradesh police for more than three years now. His band of outlaws had been robbing unsuspecting villagers in the Chhatarpur Khajuraho belt for some time with murder and robbery cases piling up against him. He would slip into Uttar Pradesh after crime. The Police had conducted raids in his hideout several times but were unable to nab him. Balkrishna had been absconding for several months and while in hiding sent out a message to some acquaintances to look for a bride for him. Police sub-inspector Madhavi Agnihotri in charge of Garroli chowki of Chhatarpur Naugaon block, was assigned the task to bring him to book. Madhvi who is in her thirties, struck a unique idea and sent out her old photograph along with a matrimonial proposal through informers to Balakishan Chaubey. Naogaon Sub-divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Srinath Singh Baghel was fascinated by Madhavi Agnihotri's idea and asked her to lead the team along with SI Atul Jha, Manoj Yadav, ASI Gyan Singh and three constables. Balakishan was invited to the date with Madhvi on Thursday in village Bijori in Uttar Pradesh, bordering Naogaon police station area. Shortly after his arrival, Madhvi sent out a signal to the team that nabbed him before he could lay his hands on his countrymade pistol. He was produced in the court on Friday from where he was sent to jail. Naugaon police station in-charge Baijnath Sharma said Chaubey (55) who belonged to Khama of Ajnar police station in Mahoba district has been arrested under various sections for cases of murder and robbery.

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India-Pakistan

Three Indian 'undercover agents' leave Pakistan

2016-11-09

[DAWN] Three out of eight Indian High Commission officials suspected of involvement in terrorist and subversive activities in Pakistain left for India on Tuesday. Anurag Singh, Vijay Kumar Verma and Madhavan Nanda Kumar, allegedly members of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW ... India's Research and Analysis Wing, Pakistain's equivalent of the Boogie Man... ), left for India earlier today on flight EK613 via Dubai. Rajesh Kumar, Amerdeep Singh Bhatti, Dharmendra Sodhi, who are also alleged members of RAW, are still in Pakistain, along with Balbir Singh and Jayabalan Senthil, who are said to be Indian Intelligence Bureau (IB) operatives. The FO during a press briefing last week revealed details of the eight Indian 'diplomats' in Pakistain, saying that a number of "Indian diplomats and staff belonging to Indian intelligence agencies RAW and IB have been found involved in coordinating terrorist and subversive activities in Pakistain under the garb of diplomatic assignments." The FO said the alleged RAW and IB officials are suspected of handling Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) factions, fueling secatarianism in Pakistain and creating unrest in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... , Sindh, and Gilgit-Balistan (GB). "They [India] are desperate to hide their crimes against humanity from the international community’s scrutiny," the FO had said.

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India-Pakistan

India calls Pakistan a 'terrorist state' after Kashmir attack

2016-09-19

India has directly accused Pakistan of involvement in a deadly raid on a Kashmir army base that killed 17 soldiers, labelling its neighbour “a terrorist state”. That's going to elevate concerns... Sunday morning’s attack on the army camp near the disputed border with Pakistan was among the deadliest against security forces in Kashmir history, and sparked grief and anger across India. The death toll could yet grow, with about 35 soldiers injured, some critically. Four fedayeen – highly trained militants on what are essentially suicide missions – died in the three-hour assault on the base at Uri, near the militarised “line of control” that divides Indian Kashmir from the Pakistan-controlled side. The Indian army’s director of general military operations (DGMO) said none of the four men was from the Indian side and that some of their equipment had Pakistani markings. It claimed they were members of Jaish-e-Mohammed, a terrorist militant group alleged to have links to elements within the Pakistani government. About 13 or 14 of the soldiers died in fires started by the militants’ incendiary ammunition, which consumed the temporary shelters and tents in which they had been sleeping. A rotation of units was under way, meaning more soldiers had been stationed on the base than usual, the DGMO said. Rajnath Singh, the Indian home minister, cancelled an overseas trip and held an emergency meeting on Sunday afternoon with top security officials. In a series of tweets, he accused Pakistan of responsibility for the attack. “I am deeply disappointed with Pakistan’s continued and direct support to terrorism and terrorist groups,” he said. “There are definitive and conclusive indictions that the perpetrators of [the] Uri attack were highly trained, heavily armed and specially equipped. Pakistan is a terrorist state and it should be identified and isolate as such.” Former army officials and members of Modi’s own party called for a more bellicose response than the largely diplomatic routes pursued after the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai or a January attack on a Punjab army base that killed seven. “For one tooth, the complete jaw,” said Ram Madhav, the general secretary of the ruling Bharatiya Janata party. “Days of so-called strategic restraint are over. If terrorism is instrument of the weak and coward, restraint in the face of repeated terror attacks betrays inefficiency and incompetence. India should prove otherwise,” he said. Now there's a stance that, if real, could change things... No group has claimed responsibility for the assault and Pakistan has denied any involvement. "Wudn't us." Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman, Nafees Zakaria, told Reuters: “India immediately puts blame on Pakistan without doing any investigation. We reject this.” How much investigation do you need? Hostility between the nuclear neighbours was already high after a summer of violent clashes in Kashmir between security forces, protesters seeking greater autonomy or independence, and militants India accuses of being sponsored by Pakistan. More than 80 civilians have died in the ongoing protests and human rights groups have accused Indian police of using excessive and arbitrary force. Before Sunday, separatist attacks in Indian-controlled Kashmir had left 102 people dead so far this year, including 30 security personnel, 71 militants and one civilian, according to the South Asia Terrorism portal. Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir as their own and have fought three wars over the former princedom since partition in 1947. Sunday attack’s came during a week of diplomatic wrangling between the pair. Pakistan’s prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, has promised he will use a speech to the UN general assembly on Wednesday to “emphatically highlight” alleged human rights abuses against protesters by Indian authorities. Last week, Indian diplomats at the UN human rights council raised for the first time Pakistan’s alleged mistreatment of its own separatists in Balochistan, a restive province in the country’s south-west. Sunday’s attack is likely to prove a decisive blow to the latest tentative peace process between Islamabad and Delhi, which has been frozen since an attack in January by Pakistan-based militants against an air force base in Pathankot, Punjab. It appeared progress was being made when Modi flew to Lahore in December for a surprise meeting with Sharif, but disputes over the investigation of the Pathankot attack had chilled relations again.

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India-Pakistan

Indian Congress leader calls for ‘plebiscite’ in held Kashmir

2016-07-23

[DAWN] Congress leader Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia called for plebiscite in India-held Kashmire, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported on Thursday. "In Kashmire today, there is a need for ’rai shumari’," Scindia said in his address to Lok Sabha, the lower house of India’s parliament. "PDP-BJP government has shed all the principles. Administration is divided and the government, which should support people, is using weapons against them." Jammu and Kashmire People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are in a coalition government in the disputed territory. However, it's easy to be generous with someone else's money... hours after his address in the parliament, Scindia had to issue a clarification, saying that by rai shumari he meant "dialogue". "I have never said there should be plebiscite. I have said there should be dialogue," Scindia was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. Meanwhile, ...back at the alley, Slats Chumbaloni was staring into a hole that was just .45 inch in diameter and was less than three feet from his face ... authorities in India-held Kashmire have shut down printing presses and temporarily banned newspapers from publishing in a sweeping information blackout after days of anti-India protests left dozens of people dead in the region. Local human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... groups and newspapers say at least 40 have died in festivities between protesters and security forces.

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India-Pakistan

Window of goodwill closing, warns Indian defence minister

2016-06-06

[DAWN] Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar warned on Saturday that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi had opened a window of goodwill and dialogue with Pakistain, it was now closing as doubts remained about its sincerity in tackling terrorism. "Prime Minister Modi opened a window of opportunities when he visited (the) Pakistain prime minister. I think that window is slowly closing. Before it closes, Pakistain needs to develop that trust with India on its sincerity on the approach," he was quoted by NDTV as saying. "Pakistain separates bandidos snuffies between good ones and bad ones. They are after bad ones but the good ones are promoted to operate in Afghanistan and India. I think that needs to be tackled at a diplomatic level," Mr Parrikar said. The minister made the comments at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an inter-governmental security forum in Singapore. He referred to Mr Modi’s surprise visit to Lahore in December last year. The comments were backed by a tweet from BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav, a senior RSS man. The comments came a day after the chief of the National Investigation Agency probing the Pathankot terrorist attack said the Pakistain government did not appear to be involved. Mr Modi and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... earlier this week had a phone conversation ahead of the latter’s heart surgery in London. They reportedly discussed ties between India and Pakistain that have cooled in recent weeks over the probe into the Pathankot terrorist strike.

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India-Pakistan

Will India's Military Revolt?

2010-09-12

Dispirited by a government that seems soft on the intifada in Kashmir, Madhav Nalapat says trouble is brewing in the military. During the 63 years that India has been a free country, only once has an army chief ever veered close to planning a coup along the lines of the Pakistan model. That was Joyanto Nath Choudhuri, who was better at writing than at war, having conceded a stalemate to a vastly inferior Pakistan force in 1965. Before him and since, the military has remained loyal to its civilian masters, even during the many periods when they’ve indulged in favouritism or in procurement scams. But there are signs now that a revolt may be brewing within the uniformed services over what they see as the United Progressive Front government's unwillingness to back them in their often bloody battle against Maoists, insurgents and jihadists across the country. The resentment is greatest in Kashmir, a consequence of Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi's ‘Look the other way’ policy towards the well-organized intifada now taking place in that state. The movement is designed to attract international intervention in the state—preferably of a military nature—similar to that which occurred in Kosovo. This might seem like an outlandish idea, but the separatist leaders in Kashmir (who preach their venom openly while living in opulence) have been made to believe by their handlers in Pakistan that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defence Secretary Robert Gates and CIA chief Leon Panetta are in favour of robust US mediation in Kashmir. Such intervention, they believe, would ultimately ensure that the state would, in effect, become independent from India. They claim that Pakistan's army chief of staff, Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, has made it clear to the US trio that his military's support for NATO operations in the Af-Pak Pashtun belt is conditional on such an outcome in Kashmir. Certainly, US and other Western diplomats have ensured there’s a steady diet of reports on the intifada in Western media, almost none of which point out that the movement is confined to just a section of the Sunni population in the Kashmir Valley and is opposed by the majority of the population in the region comprising Shias, Gujjars, Bakkerwals, Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists. Indeed, the Western media reports also ignore the reality that what the Valley Sunni separatists seek is a religious state where the Saudi version of Sharia law would form the basis of jurisprudence. Whatever the compulsions of Clinton, Gates and Panetta, the fact remains that the Sonia-led UPA has followed the Western press and diplomatic corps in ignoring the ‘silent majority’ in Kashmir, refusing to factor in the views of the non-Valley Sunni elements in the state. What has infuriated the military is the parroting of the Valley Sunni line by Home Minister P Chidambaram (ever-focused on winning brownie points with the United States) and the silence of Defense Minister A K Antony over the frequent criticisms of the military and the uniformed services generally—this at a time when more than 700 members of these services have been hospitalized for serious injuries sustained during the intifada. There’s also anger that thus far, no VIP has bothered even to enquire properly about these men, much less visit them in hospital. The present chief minister of Kashmir, the youthful Omar Abdullah, was chosen for his proximity to the heir of the Congress Party, Rahul Gandhi. But in this first test of a Rahul brigade member in the field of fire, Abdullah has failed miserably, apparently seeking to curry favour with the instigators of the intifada even while doing nothing to stop the widespread corruption that has made Kashmir (together with the Northeast) the most administratively crooked part of India. Sadly, each eruption of violence is followed by an increase in the volume of Delhi's largesse to the state, almost all of which gets used in the Valley and seems to end up in the pockets of the very Valley Sunnis who fan the flames. Kashmir for them has become a cornucopia, sustained by constant agitations that lead to fresh transfusions of cash, a part of which get used to initiate more trouble. Those on the field say that it’s only a matter of time before a revolt takes place within the uniformed services—not just in Kashmir, but in other parts of India, where the present government is adopting a policy of hunting with the hounds and running with the hares. But given the multiple arrests and other disciplinary action against uniformed personnel (which they contrast with the kid-glove treatment meted out to the intifada leadership), the time may be approaching when the hounds refuse to hunt. Instead, they may decide to step back to let Kashmir's political leadership and its Delhi backers face the consequences of a policy of winks and nods to pro-Pakistan elements seeking to prise Kashmir loose from India through international intervention.

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India-Pakistan

Maoist-led general strike shuts down much of Nepal

2010-05-03

A general strike today shut down much of Nepal as communist activists intensified their pressure on the prime minister to resign. Thousands of Maoist supporters were on the streets of the capital, Kathmandu, to ensure that shops remained closed and buses were not operating amid fears that Nepal would descend again into civil strife. Few vehicles were about and people were forced to walk to their destinations. The international airport remained open. Reminder: the Maoists are the largest party in the parliament in Nepal. They're on strike to grab the rest. The government provided foreign tourists with free shuttle buses from the airport to their hotels. Tens of thousands of Maoist supporters poured into the capital from the countryside for a rally to demandthe dissolution of a cabinet propped up by an alliance of 22 parties. As thousands of police in riot gear watched today's protesters, there were scattered reports of vandalism against vehicles and shops that defied the strike. A Maoist coordinating the protests in Kathmandu said the protesters were prepared to shut down the country for days until their demands were met."We are protesting peacefully. But if the authorities try to provoke us in any ways we are ready and prepared to retaliate," said Chandra Bahadur Thapa. Karin Landgren, chief of UN's peace mission in Nepal, said she met Maoists leaders to appeal for a peaceful resolution to the crisis. The US embassy in Kathmandu issued a statement that appealed for the parties to exercise restraint and work toward consensus. Travel advice from the Foreign Office warned that political tensions in Nepal are currently high. In 2006, the Maoists agreed to end a decade-old insurgency that left more than 13,000 people dead and went on to lead a coalition in 2008 after a surprise win in the election for a constituent assembly. But the coalition collapsed this time last year, when the Maoists, who have the largest party in parliament, walked out of the government after their failure to get the head of the army dismissed. The prime minister, Madhav Kumar, has refused to bow down to Maoist pressure. "One should not resign from the government in the midst of confusion ... government changes can be made through constitutional and parliamentary procedures and not from the streets," he said. The constituent assembly is unlikely to meet its deadline target of drafting a new constitution by 28 May 28 and the deadline cannot be extended without the support of the Maoists, who hold about 40% of the assembly's 601 seats. Analysts say consensus has steadily given way to a polarisation that has fed the more hardline elements on both sides. At the time of the fall of the Maoist-led government, the International Crisis Group think tank warned: "Only concerted efforts to re-establish a minimal working consensus and a national unity government including the Maoists can avert the likelihood of a more dangerous erosion of trust. Strong international backing, with India eschewing short-term interference in favour of longer-term guardianship of the process it itself initiated, will be essential." In other words, the ICG, progressives to a person, want the Maoists to get everything they want and for the Indians to stay out of the way. Birds of a feather, as they say ...

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Science & Technology

India Mulls Using Nuclear Energy To Power Chandrayaan II to the Moon

2009-08-14

Article doesn't say enough.. what does "Power" mean? Engines? India plans to power some parts of the Chandrayaan II--its next unmanned mission to the moon- with nuclear energy and the feasibility studies are being carried out by Indian Space Research Organization and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. "We are thinking of powering some parts of Chandrayaan II with nuclear power and it will power the spacecraft when it revolves around the dark side of the moon," Madhavan Nair, Chairman, ISRO, told media before accepting the degree of Doctorate of Science conferred on him at the 47th Convoction of IIT-Mumbai. He said both ISRO and BARC are carrying out the feasibility studies on this, which will be useful for carrying out further experiments to use N-power for Chandrayaan II, he said. Asked how safe it is to use nuclear power in the mission, he said "the safety aspects are being worked and safety is crucial when it is launched from ground level to the orbit." "To work out the safety, we have to work on new technologies and the feasibility studies will help in developing those," Nair said. On using N-power in the deep space probe, he said "we need nuclear power in those missions which are outside out solar systems but the challenges are very many." Asked whether laws relating to use of space will allow use of N-power, he said "we have to take utmost care in launching from to ground to the orbit and this aspect we will work out in future."

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India-Pakistan

Dreaded dacoit gunned down in Uttar Pradesh encounter by 500 strong posse

2009-06-18

A dreaded dacoit, who had held a strong posse of 400 Uttar Pradesh policemen on tenterhooks for over 52 hours, was today shot dead here but not before police lost four of its men. Ghanshyam Kewat, carrying a reward of Rs 50,000 on his head and had been a terror in the area dotted by forests on the Uttar Pradesh-Madhya Pradesh border, had fled from a house in Jamuali village from where he was firing indiscriminately at the police, but was surrounded by the force and gunned down. There were reports earlier that the dacoit had managed to give cops the slip. On Wednesday three policemen were killed and six others injured in a fierce encounter with the dacoit and his gang. "The encounter which started yesterday morning at Jamauli village is still on till late this evening," Director General of Police Vikram Singh had said on Wednesday, adding that additional forces had been sent to the spot, around 120 km from Allahabad. "Company commander PAC Beni Madhav Singh and constables Shamim and Iqbal were killed in the encounter while IG, PAC VK Gupta, DIG Chitrakoot SK Singh and four others -- Navendra Singh and Akram of STF, Dileep Kumar Tiwari and Rajendra Singh -- were injured," the officer said on Wednesday. Both Gupta and Singh received bullet injuries on their lower abdomen and were admitted to SGPGI after being air lifted to Lucknow. When asked why the police was taking so much time in winding up the operation, Singh said: "Such encounters cannot be tailor made. We have all type of weapons that can be used in such situations. But we are conducting the operation in such a way that no harm could be made to villagers, their property and livestock." "They are using .303 rifles, double and single barrel of .312 bore and hand grenades," Singh had said. When asked about the gang, the DGP said it was "residual gang" of dacoit Baccha Kewat, who was killed earlier by the police. He said that teams of Special Task Force (STF), Special Operation Group (SOG), PAC and force and officers of nearby districts like Allahabad, Banda and Kaushambi have surrounded the area.

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India-Pakistan

Nepali Parliament Elects New Prime Minister

2009-05-24

In Nepal, a veteran communist leader, Madhav Kumar Nepal, has been elected as the country's new prime minister, ending a political deadlock which followed the resignation of Maoist Prime Minister Prachanda. But the tiny Himalayan country's political problems are far from over. Why a communist? Haven't they any royalists lying about? The speaker of parliament Subhash Nemwang declared Madhav Kumar Nepal elected to the post of prime minister unopposed on Saturday evening. Fifty-six-year-old Mr. Nepal heads one of the country's oldest parties known as the Communist Party of Nepal - United Marxist Leninist. He will lead an alliance of 22 parties. Not just a communist but a Marxist-Leninist? How is this an improvement over the Maoist they just got rid of? The alliance was put together after the exit of Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, popularly known as Prachanda. Prachanda resigned earlier this month after the president overturned his party's decision to sack the army chief, who had refused to integrate former rebel fighters into the army. Since then the country has been in political limbo, as the Maoists demanded that the president quit, disrupted parliament, and blocked the formation of a new government. The Maoists agreed to lift their protests earlier this week allowing a vote to be held on Saturday. However, Maoists stormed out of parliament before the vote, calling the selection of a new leader a "farce." Their absence highlights the many challenges the new prime minister faces. He has to oversee the drafting of a new constitution for the country, scheduled to be completed by next year. But the job will be difficult without the cooperation of the Maoists who are the single largest party, and control 40 percent of the seats in parliament. I don't suppose the king will be invited back. As I recall, that was a bit of a disaster.

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Sri Lanka

India offers Rs 500cr aid to Lanka

2009-05-19

May 19: India was preparing a Rs 500-crore aid package for Sri Lanka, minister of external affairs Pranab Mukherjee said. An Indian delegation is likely to visit Colombo soon to discuss how to spend the money on the rehabilitation of the Tamils displaced by the conflict. "A package of almost Rs 500 crores which will be required for rehabilitation is under preparation," Mr Mukherjee told reporters here on Tuesday. India has expressed a desire to work with the people and the government of Sri Lanka to provide relief to those affected by the conflict, and to rapidly rehabilitate the displaced people, bringing their lives to normalcy as soon as possible. On Monday, Mr Mukherjee had a telephonic conversation with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who confirmed that armed resistance by the LTTE had come to an end and that Tamil Tiger chief Velupillai Prabhakaran was dead. Meanwhile, another of India’s neighbours, Nepal, on Tuesday sought out India for exchanging views on a political crisis in the Himalayan republic. Mr Mukherjee received a call from Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) leader Madhav Kumar Nepal, whose party has staked claim to form the government after Maoist leader and caretaker Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" resigned on May 4. During the telephonic conversation, Mr Mukherjee said that India wanted stability and democracy in Nepal, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. Mr Nepal briefed Mr Mukherjee about the developments in his country where Maoists were preventing formation of a new government. The CPN-UML, the third largest party in the Constituent Assembly, has claimed the support of 351 lawmakers in the 601-member House. (301 seats are required for a simple majority.) However, Maoists, who have been isolated, were preventing it by disrupting the functioning of the Constituent Assembly and hence prolonging the Constitutional crisis in the country.

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India-Pakistan

Madhav Kumar Nepal set to become Premier

2009-05-18

KATHMANDU: With the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) finally agreeing to back the CPN(UML)-Nepali Congress alliance, senior leader of CPN-UML Madhav Kumar Nepal is set to be the next Prime Minister of Nepal. This is but a minor set-back for the ultra-hard Maoists. They'll be back. It's kind of hard to come back from being laughed at. Perhaps the current head of the Maoists will suddently decide to commit suicide by shooting himself in the back of the head... twice. That might give the party a new lease on life. On Sunday, leaders of CPN (UML), Nepali Congress, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum and others handed over 350 signatures collected from Constituent Assembly (CA) members belonging to 22 different parties to the Chairman of the Constituent Assembly, Subash Nembang, who said he would soon start the process of government formation. According to the interim Constitution, a government can be formed with a simple majority of 301. Following Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda's" resignation as the Prime Minister, President Ram Baran Yadav had first asked the parties to form a government of consensus; but when they failed, he asked them to form a majority government. Meanwhile, Mr. Prachanda said the new government would not complete the peace process or bring peace to the country, and that it was a move to "eliminate leftists using leftists". Perhaps completing the peace process as originally negotiated is not such a good idea as it seemed. I'd like to see the new government go Sri Lankan on them. "We're quitting the government, but with pride; but those coming in power are coming with low self-esteem they are forming the government according to signals of foreign lords and therefore won't have confidence to keep their head high," he said on Sunday addressing a Maoists-organised programme in protest against the "presidential coup" and foreign intervention. He also charged that formation of an alternative government was a conspiracy to break the peace process and push the country to war. "As a leader of the biggest party, I request leaders of all the political parties to rethink about this decision and come forward for national consensus," he said. "Because if you don't I'm going back to war and unleash a whirlwind," he threatened softly. Yes, but now everybody knows they only have 5-7,000 fighters, not 35,000. The whirlwind is a lot smaller. Addressing a huge gathering in the capital to protest the decision of President Ram Baran Yadav to retain Nepal Army Chief General Rookmangud Katawal and to protest against foreign interference, he said he had heard that the new government planned to let the People's Liberation Army fight the Army; and if that was not a decisive fight, to invite a foreign army. "If anyone thinks of turning Nepal into Afghanistan, Yugoslavia or Sri Lanka, it would only be a day dream," he said and warned "foreign reactionaries" not to insult Nepali people. Go Sri Lankan on them. The Maoist chairman also said that India had not supported them in establishing civilian supremacy. Addressing the protest against foreign intervention, Mr. Prachanda said he had told Madhav Kumar Nepal, the proposed Prime Minister for new government, not to be "remote-controlled". The Maoist chairman also said that a new revolution will be launched across the country against foreign brokers who did not want the peace process to be complete and against foreign reactionaries who were "trying to seize Nepali's right to decide for themselves." He, however, said his party remained committed to the peace process and writing of a new Constitution.

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