Tests point at doctored Joshi CD

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh police on Thursday said the CD allegedly showing RSS pracharak Sanjay Joshi having sex was probably doctored, reports our special correspondent.

State inspector-general of police M.P. Dwivedi said he received a report from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Hyderabad, three days ago.

“The footage seems to be manipulated,” Dwivedi said, adding that Joshi’s photographs and the face of the man who appears in the CD did not match during the forensic tests. “It seems there was an attempt to blackmail and threaten Joshi using forged electronic tools.”

The officer, however, stopped short of exonerating Joshi completely. He pointed out that a light behind the man in the CD was, perhaps, aimed at giving a “chromo smearing” effect to make identification almost impossible. “The woman’s face was also concealed,” Dwivedi said.

Delhi markets on strike

New Delhi: Shopping complexes in the capital were closed on Thursday in protest against the sealing of shops in residential areas on the Supreme Court’s orders.

The markets, except the Connaught Place and Chandni Chowk, went on a two-day strike as the municipal corporation continued to seal shops in basements as well as on floors above the ground floor.

Unhappy with the corporation for “cosmetic demolitions”, Delhi High Court has issued a bailable warrant against commissioner A.K. Nigam. Justice Pradeep Nandrajog charged him with misleading the court on certain demolitions carried out following its orders. Nigam was directed to be present in court on April 18.

Torture balm

New Delhi: Home minister Shivraj Patil has said the Centre has introduced a bill that provides for compensation to victims of custodial violence.

He called upon investigating agencies to shed the “outdated practice” of paying undue importance to oral evidence as opposed to circumstantial evidence.

Chawla petition

New Delhi (PTI): The NDA petition demanding the removal of election commissioner Navin Chawla, accused of having links with the Congress, has been referred to the Prime Minister by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Chawla allegedly received over Rs 85 lakh for his family trusts from some Congress politicians.

Buniyaad writer

New Delhi (PTI): Litterateur Manohar Shyam Joshi, 73, who revolutionised TV entertainment with his serials Buniyaad and Hum Log, died here on Thursday after a cardiac arrest.

The marbled teal, a rare and endangered migratory duck, has been spotted in the Nal Sarovar sanctuary of Gujarat after 12 years. Two such teals were found during a census this year.