'Why was I transferred?' asks Haryana IAS officer who ordered probe into Vadra's land deals

Vadra deal row: Khemka seeks explanation for his transfer

NEW DELHI: A top IAS officer in Haryana, Ashok Khemka, who was recently trasferred by the state government for allegedly ordering a probe into the land deals of Robert Vadra, has spoken out against his abrupt transfer.

Significantly, on Monday, the last day of his posting as director general of land consolidation and land records-cum- inspector-general of registration, Khemka issued an order cancelling the mutation of over 3 acre plot of land in Manesar-Shikohpur that Vadra had sold to DLF.

The prime plot of land was bought by Robert Vadra in February 2008 for Rs 7.5 crore. A month later, in March 2008, Vadra's company was given a licence by Haryana's town and country planning (TCP) department to develop a housing colony on this site. Within 65 days of the licence being granted, Vadra entered into an "agreement to sell" this plot to DLF for Rs 58 crore.

During his tenure in consolidation of land holdings department, Khemka discovered illegal mutation, an exercise to record the ownership of property in revenue record, of thousands of acres of panchayat land. Khemka ordered probe into the alleged undervaluation of some of the land deals of Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law.

Speaking to Times Now, the 1991-batch IAS officer said, "On October 8, I initiated a probe into the alleged reports of undervaluation based on media reports and allegations of wrongdoing by my office." "I was served a transfer order on October 11 at 10pm at my residence," Khemka said seeking an explanation for his transfer. He refused to make any direct comments on the reason behind his transfer. "It is for the state government to answer this question," Khemka said. "I have suffered 40 transfers in 20 years. I would want to know why I am transferred, so that I can take corrective action and become a better civil servant," he said.

Khemka was transferred from his post of director general, consolidations of holdings and land records, afer a tenure of less than two months, and posted as managing director of Haryana Seeds Development Corporation, which was last under an officer 12 years his junior.

Khemka wrote a letter to state chief secreatary PK Chaudhery on October 12, objecting to his transfer. "It is shocking to learn about my abrupt transfer...this is deliberate and malafide to punish me due to some vested elements in the political-bureaucratic hierarchy affected by the expose of the scams in consolidation of land holdings under the exercise of powers," the letter said.

Before the land holding department, Khemka was heading Haryana electronics development corporation ltd. (Hartron) but was shifted in 50 days after he exposed its corrupt practices.

Reacting to Ashok Khemka's outburst, Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda denied that his transfer was a punishment. The chief minister went on to threaten action against Khemka if his statements were found to be untrue. 'The chief secretary has been told to probe his allegations. The state government has not given any undue favours to anyone. We will take action against Khemka if it is found that he has misrepresented facts," Hooda said.

India Against Corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal has criticized the Haryana government's move to transfer the officer and has alleged that he has been punished for daring to probe Robert Vadra. Kejriwal also raised questions on the transfer policy of the state government. The BJP also criticized the Haryana government for victimizing the officer for acting against Vadra's land deals.

This is not for the first time that a civil servant or a whistleblower has been harassed and witch-hunted in Haryana. Earlier, IFS officer, Sanjiv Chaturvedi was transferred 12 times by the Haryana government during 2005-2010 after he exposed irregularities in the forest department. The state government was forced to revoke his suspension and chargesheet after the intervention of the President in 2008 and 2010 respectively.

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How CIA killed Qaida mastermind al-Awlaki through 'marriage plot'

The devilish plot to kill al-Awlaki revolved around a double agent, who was paid by the CIA to find and deliver a European wife to the terrorist mastermind.

WASHINGTON: The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) managed to kill one of its most wanted terrorists in the world, al-Qaida leader Anwar al-Awlaki in a drone strike attack in September 2011, through a fake marriage plot with a Croatian woman.

Al-Awlaki was linked with 2009's Fort Hood shooting and the foiled airplane underwear bomb that happened later in the same year.

The devilish plot to kill al-Awlaki revolved around a Danish CIA and al-Qaida double agent, who was paid 250,000 dollars by the CIA in 2009 to find and deliver a European wife to the terrorist mastermind, the New York Post reports.

According to the paper, Morten Storm, the double agent, said that in 2010 he found a Croatian woman named Aminah through a Facebook page setup for fans of al-Awlaki, and used the money he got from the CIA to play matchmaker, and through a series of bizarre and chilling videos, text messages, and emails, he helped Aminah entice al-Awlaki.

Storm said that apparently Aminah's wooing worked because al-Awlaki accepted the proposal in a video of his own, saying "If you can live in difficult conditions, don't mind loneliness, and can live with restrictions on your communications with others, that is great."

Storm revealed that with the courtship done, al-Awlaki invited Aminah to meet up with him in Yeman whereupon the CIA was planning to kill the couple in a drone strike. He was subsequently killed in a CIA drone strike in September 2011.

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Infosys CEO SD Shibulal's letter to employees

Infosys chief executive SD Shibulal is reprising his message from three months ago, reassuring the company's 1.5 lakh employees in a letter.

BANGALORE: Infosys chief executive SD Shibulal is reprising his message from three months ago, reassuring the company's 1.5 lakh employees in a letter, that India's second-largest software exporter is on the right track.

The email communication, sent two days after the company reported second-quarter results below expectations, once again touted the merits of the so-called 'Infosys 3.0' strategy. Shibulal also sought to portray V Balakrishnan's exit as CFO in the light of a "tradition of grooming leaders."

Here are excerpts from the letter:
'While global economic uncertainty and delays in client decision-making continue, I am happy to report that we are witnessing momentum on the Infosys 3.0 strategy. The acquisition of Lodestone has given a boost to our consulting capabilities and our presence in Continental Europe.'

'The size and quality of new deals, this quarter, in the Business IT services space validate the success of our innovative and differentiated approach to IT outsourcing. Our products and platforms business continues to scale at a rapid pace with 21 new client wins.'

'Continuing our tradition of grooming leaders, V Balakrishnan, Member of the Board, has decided to hand over the baton of Chief Financial Officer to Rajiv Bansal.'

'Bala has been continuously recognized as the finest CFO in the country. His financial acumen has been universally acknowledged by clients and the market alike. I would like to express my appreciation for his contributions in helping us create a robust financial model and an enviable balance sheet.'

'I would like to reiterate that the strategic direction we have embarked on is steadily gaining traction. What we have accomplished, despite the turbulent environment, is a clear demonstration of the wisdom of this course. I believe this path will deliver greater value for our clients and sustainable, high-quality growth for Infosys.'

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Robert Vadra director of 12 companies, 6 started this year

Vadra is a director or an additional director in 12 companies, according to the ministry of corporate affairs.

NEW DELHI: There is still no clarity if Corporation Bank ever extended an over-draft facility to a company controlled by Robert Vadra. However, it is confirmed that the Mangalore-based nationalised bank was among the favourite financial institutions of the controversial son-in-law of the Congress's first family.

According to documents filed by the many companies controlled by Vadra, at least three of these firms had active accounts with Corporation Bank. In case of two other companies they do not specify the bank where the accounts are, but it is possible that they too were banking mostly with the same branch of Corporation Bank.

Vadra is a director or an additional director in 12 companies, according to the ministry of corporate affairs. Of them, six firms were incorporated only this year, so they haven't yet filed their first balance sheets along with reports from the directors, auditors etc, with the registrar of company affairs.

Of the other six firms, which have been in existence for longer period, their preferred banks were Corporation Bank and Standard Chartered.

Blue Breeze, Sky Light Realty and Sky Light Hospitality all have active accounts with Corporation Bank in the national Capital. In some of these filings, it is specified that the accounts are in the Friends Colony branch of the bank.

In its filing for 2007-08, Sky Light Hospitality has claimed an over-draft of Rs 7.94 crore. The bank has until now denied extending any over-draft to the firm, kicking up yet another row surrounding Vadra, whose meteoric financial gains has turned into a full-fledged political controversy after Arvind Kejriwal-led India Against Corruption (IAC) last week demanded a thorough investigation into it.

Blue Breeze Trading also has an account with the Friends Colony branch of Corporation Bank. In fact, it was the only account that the company had when it started. Later, the company opened an account with Standard Chartered Bank.

Sky Light Realty also had its accounts in both Corporation Bank and Standard Chartered. In fact, Vadra firms seem to have had numerous fixed deposits running into several crores, especially with Standard Chartered.

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Amid scam charges, bypoll results give a jolt to Congress

BJP's Mala Raj Laxmi Shah wins Tehri bypoll

NEW DELHI: Congress lost the Tehri Lok Sabha seat to BJP, and won by a wafer-thin margin in the Jangipur byelection — caused by the resignation of Pranab Mukherjee after becoming the UPA nominee for President — an outcome that added to the party's miseries and can accelerate the debate over the desirability of bringing forward the Lok Sabha election.

The defeat of Uttarakhand CM Vijay Bahuguna's son Saket in the Tehri byelection came as a shocker. Bahuguna senior has won the seat in 2009, and his elevation as the CM was expected to help his son romp home by a bigger margin. By-elections tend to go ruling party's way, and hopes of benefits from the CM should have given Congress a clear edge.

In the event, BJP's Malarajya Laxmi Shah won by comfortable margin of 22,694 votes.

Pranab Mukhejee's son Abhijeet survived a scare before making it by a mere 2,536 votes. Mukherjee, in alliance with West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool, had won by a margin of over 1.28 lakh votes. Mukherjee junior's margin looked all the more unimpressive because Banerjee, despite her split with Congress, had decided not to field a candidate.

To add to Congress's worries, two newly-launched Muslim outfits walked away with 66,000 votes.

According to an agency report, Abhijeet put down his slender margin to the "issues of inflation and FDI".

The disappointing results came in the wake of a huge setback that Congress suffered last week when Prashant Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal managed to breach the immunity of party chief Sonia Gandhi by raising the issue of son-in-law Robert Vadra's controversial dealings with real estate biggie DLF. Although Congress has defended Vadra saying that no illegality has been proven, party sources agree that Bhushan and Kejriwal may have managed to drag the issue of corruption uncomfortably closer to 10, Janpath.

Given that Sonia has been the mainstay of the party and was instrumental why it could regain its pre-eminence after the NDA regime, it must rank as the biggest blow. The breach in the armour could tempt more attacks and this was evident on Saturday when yoga guru Baba Ramdev unleashed a frontal assault on Congress's "first family".

Though of only doubtful political consequence, Ramdev's attack on the "family" was, with the possible exception of Narendra Modi's barbs during the 2007 Gujarat election, was scathing since Sonia acquired an aura after UPA's win in 2004 and because of initiatives like Right to Information Act, rural employment guarantee scheme and aggressive secularism.

With the spate of corruption charges continuing to sap party's image, and stubborn inflation taking a toll as well, party circles have begun to weigh the merits of completing the term. A school in the party favours bringing forward elections and scheduling it just after finance minister P Chidambaram, helped with a waning influence and a stronger rupee, has presented a feel-good budget with food security and cash transfers scheme as its highlight. Another opinion suggests that the party should hold on until September for the message of Chidambaram's budget to percolate.

Whatever comes of the debate: a view is unlikely to be taken before the outcome of Gujarat polls and the political class is increasingly looking at the inevitability of a parliamentary election next year. Last week saw UPA component NCP and Mayawati taking the view that Congress may go in for an early polls. And, SP and Trinamool Congress Mamata Banerjee had expressed the same view earlier.

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Pakistan declared new winner of Nobel Peace Prize

OSLO/ISLAMABAD: Pakistan was declared the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2012 for its efforts in ridding the world of Indians, Americans and Afghanistanis, refusing to arrest hardcore terrorists despite global pressure and giving shelter to the saintly Osama bin Laden.

There was widespread celebration all over the country after this announcement. "We're having a blast," said some peace-loving citizens armed with rocket launchers. Many others took a break from attacking embassies and planting landmines to join the revelry.

Pakistan has been the key to transforming Asia "from a continent of wars to a continent of peace," committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said while announcing the award in Oslo. "We specially laud its work to spread peace in the neighbourhood," he added.

The president of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari is said to have welcomed the news. He was later heard asking some reporters if he would be entitled to 10% of the prize money. He the addressed a press conference and said: "We are the world's leading exporter of terrorists and taxi drivers. And now the world has recognized our talents."

In the midst of all these celebrations, a controversy has broken out. Officials of the Pak Taliban and al-Qaida have also demanded a share of the prize, claiming to have played a major role in putting Pakistan on the map of the world.

The leader of al-Qaida was interrupted while he was watching a pirated DVD of Rambo-III to be given the news of the prize. Sources said the elated leader reportedly jumped on a table and danced gangnam style, complete with pelvic thrusts after hearing the news.

Meanwhile, the Americans have praised the choice of award and decided to add to it by giving Pakistan another few billion dollars along with some F-16 jets and Apache attack helicopters. China too plans to continue to aid Pakistan's peace loving ways by providing military hardware.

Some Pakistani intellectuals (read ISI supporters) have demanded that the Nobel Committee also award Ajmal Kasab for having survived so many days in prison and for showing exemplary courage in demanding chicken biryani.

Meanwhile, the Indian government plans to solve the 26/11 Mumbai attacks case by holding more peace talks with Pakistan.

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5 Signs she wants sex

Mumbai Mirror Oct 12, 2012, 12.00AM IST

(5 Signs she wants sex (Thinkstock…)

Focus on what she's not telling you in bed by reading her body language

It's a universally accepted fact that women are complicated, confusing beings who, in spite of talking incessantly, rely a lot on non-verbal communication to convey their inner-most thoughts. So it's left to you to unravel the mystery of their look, sigh or grump.

Since they manage to take the same trait into the bedroom and you might find yourself befuddled at her reactions, wondering if she's rubbing up against you out of extreme desire or as a distraction tactic to get you to stop doing what you're doing. We help you decode her subtle body language in bed, so you're abreast of whether you're doing it right or need to up your ante. If you manage to read your cues right, you'll be suitable rewarded and her body will display overall signs of arousal that can't be faked. Here are a few:

In her arms

If instead of holding you, her arms are held close to her body, there might be a little something going on, you should take note of. In some positions she might need her arms to support her weight, but in most cases, if she's consciously holding her arms close, she is clearly not letting go with wild abandon. She shouldn't want to be covering herself up. If however, they're above your or her head, on your chest, splayed out on the sheets or held out on either side, it's her way of telling you, she's comfortable with where she is and there's no need to hold back.

Breathing heavy
This is usually a dead give away and impossible to mask or fake. As the body is excited and turned on, the breath becomes more urgent and rapid. Involuntary moans are made as air rapidly makes its way through her vocal chords. The heart rate increases as the body prepares for an orgasm, making her internal organs demand more oxygen. A thumping heart rate and urgent breathing should let you know that you're on the right track. However, if immediately after a big orgasm, she's back to a slow restful pace of breath, you just witnessed a big show.

Writhing heights
When a body enthusiastically responds to another, it urges for proximity. If she's grinding or pushing herself against you, trying to hold or hug you, her body language is as inviting as it gets. Curling toes are another good indicator, but try to catch a glance offhand. If the motion is subconscious, it's probably genuine. If however, she's lying there waiting for you to do all the hard work, there's probably a little that's happening in terms of arousal for her. You need to regroup and restart. Try changing positions or focus on her erogenous zones to get her attention.

Hip action
A little known secret about good sex is that it's tremendously synchronized. The way the bodies were designed, they were meant to move repeatedly in the same motion until both achieved a climax. So if you find her matching your moves, you've hit the right notes and just need to make it to the finish line. Sometimes it takes a little time to get in sync but if you don't see it happening, chances are that her body is telling you it wants something else, another position perhaps. Wait for her to respond with the same intensity.

In the deep
Once you are in the zone and aiming for the finish, given the sensitivity of organs involved, you should be able to feel her strong internal muscles act against yours. With spasms and some amount of clenching, you'll get a good idea of how well you're doing. However, don't use it as a benchmark since not all women have the same amount of control over their kegel muscles. Some amount of contraction and relaxation that you may feel could be for her own pleasure, but pay close attention to what her overall intensity is telling you.

What works for one woman may never work for another but the idea is to be attuned to the feedback her body language is giving you. If you feel like you're not in sync, pause and try something new. Avoid sticking to a routine or becoming predictable. Spice things up with experimentation, teasing and tantalizing your partner and keep an eye out for fake moans and forced emotions.

mirrorfeedback@indiatimes.com

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Aiyyaa

Story: A middle-class Marathi mulgi falls in love and romances a Tamil boy in her quirky fantasies, while her parents are looking for the perfect matrimonial match.

Movie Review: Arrey Deva, hey kai? Kinky Kanda-pohey topped with sexy sambar-chutney? Of course, this can't beat the madness of the dramatic Deshpandes. A family of 'weird-Ums' - With aai, baba, bhau, aajji and dream-girl Meenaxi Deshpande ( Rani Mukerji), who's truly the Queen of her filmi fantasies (she's revisited every dream sequence as Sridevi, Juhi, Madhuri). So what if this D-family is busy arranging 6pm and 9pm shows of 'Meet The Bride', this one is no Balaji brand bahu, really. She needs more tadka in her life than what a plain diet of varan-bhaat can give. Meenaxi spends time chasing her unique olfactory senses (read: nose) and slipping into long dream-um sequences (where jumping, pumping, thumping, laavni, belly-dancing and more happen) AGB!!!(read: Aga Bai!). When a studly, mysterious Tamil boy Surya (Prithviraj) walks in 'reeking' of manhood, sexuality and 'fragrance', this mulgi just doesn't want to wake up from her wet dreams (funnily, he's the one getting wet in all her dreams); so she starts reading books on Tamil fiction, watching Midnight Masala (Isshh!!), and turning aiyyaas to aiyyos. In the meanwhile, she also meets a potential groom, Madhav ( Subodh Bhave), who believes in filmi romance too, albeit the Farooq Sheikh - Deepti Naval type.

From top to basumm Rani is truly Wonderum! As Meenaxi, she's 'nose-dived' into the character, literally. She's looking fabulous (especially in her bronzed dream sequences), and has dished out a brilliant performance, slipping from traditionally simple to shockingly sexy in a heart-beatumm. Her comic-timing is a revelation and so are her belly-dancing skills. And even with all that boldness, she steals the thunder (more with talent than her thighs-sighs).

Prithviraj is simply Eroticumm! He exudes chiselled, raw sexuality in every scene; gets wet, adds Southern masala with his moves, but says nothing really. Adding to all the drama is the supporting cast led by an over-the-top Aai ( Nirmiti Sawant), chain-smoker Baba ( Satish Alekar), eccentric Aajji who hilariously zips around in a wheel-chair with dentures made of gold (saved for Meenaxi's wedding), Nana (Ameya Wagh as her bro) who prefers stray dogs to the human race, and her girl-friend, Maina ( Anita Date) - the Gaga-bai of the gang (modeled on Lady Gaga), - who lusts for John Abraham, thinks 'sex' and breaks away from the sweet Modak-mould of this typical Maharashtrian family.

Sachin Kundalkar starts out well, but while juggling between Marathi matrimonials and midnight-masala, his plot goes 'wakda' (read: digresses). After a few giggles, erotic gasps, and gaanas (Amit Trivedi), the story stretches pointlessly and loses its scent.

Even with such a talented ensemble, this one turns into a cultural showpiece, and gets lost in translation. That's the sad-partumm!

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He wants sex, or he'll kill me, Hemashri told friend

BANGALORE: Slain Kannada TV actor Hemashri's traumatic marital life, her fears and disgust with her family have been revealed in conversations between her and an unidentified friend.

"He (Babu) wants to either have sex with me or kill me," Hemashri tells her friend. TOI accessed the telephone conversations running up to seven minutes between the 28-year-old actor and her friend.

In most of the conversations, Hemashri confides in her friend that her husband was determined to have sex with her, failing which he planned to kill her. She also talks about her husband's sex maniac ways.

Hemashri's husband, businessman Surendra Babu, 52, is now in police custody for his suspected role in his wife's murder.

"Strangely, my mother acts like his legal wife. People say he has cast a spell on us with black magic by employing a tantrik from Kollegal forest. This is why my mother and I fight regularly. Worse, he has spoilt my mother. VIPs keep coming to our house. My house has turned into a filthy place now," the actor is heard pouring her woes out to the friend.

"Babu is married to four women and has nine children from them. Whether he has divorced them or not, I have no idea. Saying that he has lost 'power', he is now taking medical treatment," Hemashri told her friend in another conversation.

"His first wife is a village woman. He deserted her after having three children. The children work as coolies and don't know who their father is. His second and third wives live in some part of the city and the fourth one lives in Konanakunte. In all, he has nine children from the four women," the actor added.

"He knows he has failed to attract me. He wants to enjoy sex with me, failing which he wants to kill me. He has hired three goons to get me thrashed. Recently, I discovered one more secret of his. If I make it public, he will get me beaten up and get my legs and hands chopped. My life is under threat," Hemashri revealed.

"My mother has now labelled me a prostitute... I feel like committing suicide. My mother was never like this. Surendra Babu has changed her. Babu is nothing but a sex maniac," the actor alleged.

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Samsung unveils Galaxy S III Mini

Samsung today unveiled the Galaxy S III Mini, the smaller and toned-down iteration of its current flagship smartphone, in Germany, with a 4-inch SuperAMOLED display and Android 4.1.

NEW DELHI: Samsung today unveiled the Galaxy S III Mini, the smaller and toned-down iteration of its current flagship smartphone, in Germany. The all-new device features the 'pebble' design language that the Galaxy S III and Note II have, but features a smaller 4-inch SuperAMOLED display.

The Galaxy S III Mini runs Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) with Nature UI and is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor, which will be much slower than the 1.4GHz quad-core processor used in the S III. The phone will be available in 8GB and 1GB variants, which will support microSD card up to 32GB.

Rear camera in the S III Mini has been scaled down to 5MP, from the 8MP snapper that came with the S III. The battery has also been reduced from 2,100mAh in the S III to 1,500mAh in S III Mini. Connectivity options in the two devices remain the same, such as NFC, 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0 and S Beam. The S III Mini also comes with S Voice, the digital voice assistant that Samsung developed in order to rival with Apple's Siri.

Though the S III Mini is being launched as an extension to the S III brand, its hardware is quite similar to that of the Galaxy S Advance. The only differences between the two devices are NFC, S Voice, S Beam, slight increment in RAM and Android 4.1 instead of Android 2.3.

There was no word on the pricing and availability of the Samsung Galaxy S III Mini globally as well as in India. However, India is one of the biggest markets for Samsung and we expect that the phone will soon be officially launched in the country.

Key specs:

Display: 4-inch SuperAMOLED touchscreen
Operating system: Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
Processor: 1GHz dual-core
RAM: 1GB
Storage: 8, 16GB, with microSD card support up to 32GB
Connectivity: 3G, 2G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, S Beam
Battery: 1,500mAh

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