Arushi murder case: The untold story !!

A disturbing sexual angle has emerged in the murder of Aarushi Talwar, 14. Crucial facts left out from her post-mortem report suggest that her private parts were "extraordinarily dilated". But there were no signs of rape. These facts, established by the CBI after they questioned the doctor who performed the post-mortem, give a new twist to the case."The vaginal orifice of the deceased was unduly large and mouth of cervix was visible," says the CBI's closure report.

Her private parts were cleaned. This caused water stains on the bedsheet. There was no semen on the bedsheet. But the pyjamas Aarushi wore did not have water stains on it. This shows that the crime scene was dressed up. The CBI believes Aarushi may have been killed elsewhere and the body placed on her bed.
parallel investigation by Headlines Today reveals that the chairperson of the National Commission on Women (NCW) Girija Vyas allegedly scuttled a probe into the Aarushi's murder by a two-member NCW committee. Soon after the killing, this committee visited the Talwar house in Jalvayu Vihar, Noida, to investigate. Former NCW member Nirmala Venkatesh alleges that as soon as they stepped into Hemraj's room, she got five calls from Vyas, asking her to stop the probe. Vyas initially denied there was an inquiry and that a committee was formed. She later admitted that there was, but said the report was not made public because the CBI was about to investigate.

These sensational revelations fly in the face of the CBI's closure report. Last month, the CBI sought the special court's permission to close the double murder case because it could not solve it.

Though the CBI has been unable to nail the accused, its investigations have completely ruled out the possibility of outsiders having killed Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj Banjade. Circumstantial evidence points to the complicity of those inside. The crime scene was methodically "dressed up"or cleansed of all evidence which could implicate the Talwars. An expert from the forensic science laboratory, Gandhinagar, who inspected the crime scene, says that the crime had been committed by someone "very close to Aarushi".

Nobody except the killer or killers, of course, knows what exactly happened in the Talwar residence during the six crucial hours between 12 midnight and 6 a.m. on May 16, 2008, when both Hemraj and Aarushi were brutally murdered within an hour. Aarushi was bludgeoned on her forehead and her throat slit with a small, sharp object. So was Hemraj.

A reconstruction of the crime, however, increasingly points to an inside hand. The assailants had gained easy access to the flat because there were no signs of forced entry. They killed Aarushi and Hemraj, moved their bodies around the flat and even stayed behind for drinks. The parents of Aarushi, Nupur and Rajesh Talwar, seem to have slept through an incredible amount of activity in their small flat. They claimed their bedroom door was shut and the air-conditioner turned on.

The murderer dragged Hemraj's body to the terrace using a sheet. The body was cursorily covered with a cooler lid and a bedsheet on a clothesline. The murderers then locked the terrace door and re-entered the house. They even seemed to know where the Talwars' mini-bar was-behind a wooden panel near the dining table. They drank from a bottle of whiskey and left it on the dining table. The bottle had bloodstains of both victims.

At around 3.43 a.m., the Internet router in Aarushi's room was switched off. That means that somebody entered her room nearly three hours after her murder. Whoever it was, failed to raise the alarm or even spot her body.

At 6.01 a.m., housemaid Bharti arrived. She rang the doorbell four times. Normally, Hemraj, the domestic help, would open the door, but this time Nupur opened it. Rajesh was also awake. This was unusual because the couple were late risers. The iron grill door at the entrance was locked from outside, so Nupur threw the keys from the balcony to Bharti. Three minutes later, when Bharti entered, she found the couple sobbing. "Dekho Hemraj ne kya kar diya (look what Hemraj has done)". Aarushi was found on the bed in a pool of blood. Bharti rushed out to inform the neighbours. Hemraj's room had an independent entry and opened into the flat from inside.

Another strange incident happened around this time. Nupur called Hemraj's cellphone from her landline at 6.01 a.m. The call was immediately disconnected. This means the dead servant's phone was attended by someone near the crime scene. Inexplicably, both Hemraj's and Aarushi's cellphones disappeared. Hemraj's phone was never found but Aarushi's Nokia N72 was found on a dirt track by a housemaid near Noida's Sadarpur area a fortnight later. Its memory was wiped clean. The cellphone was a crucial piece of evidence.

Aarushi would usually be up chatting with her friends until well past midnight. On the night of May 15, her cellphone was inactive after 9.10 p.m. At around midnight, her friend Anmol called on the Talwar landline because he could not get through her cellphone. There was no response. Anmol then sent an SMS to her cellphone at around 12.30. This SMS was not received by Aarushi's phone.

What were the Talwars doing before the murders? According to the CBI closure report, after reaching home at 9.30 p.m., they dined with Aarushi, then took a few pictures on a new digital camera they bought for Aarushi as a birthday gift and retired by around 11 p.m. Around this time, Nupur came to Aarushi's room to switch on the Internet router. Aarushi was reading a book.

The parents controlled access to Aarushi's room by locking it; the keys to her room would usually lie by Nupur's bedside. Nupur told the police that she was not sure whether she locked Aarushi's door the last time she went to her room. Rajesh received a call from the US on his landline at this time. This indicated that his ringer was not silent. He surfed the Internet, sent some emails, surveyed stock market sites and some dentistry sites. He sent his last email at 11.57 p.m. before presumably going to sleep.

The following morning, the bunch of keys to the flat and terrace were found on the bed in Hemraj's room by Nupur. Aarushi's bedroom keys were found in the living room. It was the only set of house keys, so it is still not clear how the Talwars were locked from the outside. The police arrived an hour later, at 7.15 a.m. They were met by a crowd inside. There were 15 people in the living room and five-six people in the Talwars' bedroom. Only Aarushi's room was empty. The crime scene was completely trampled upon.

The "Hemraj killed Aarushi" theory was gospel for a full day. Rajesh repeatedly told the police officers to pursue Hemraj and not to waste time in his flat. He dissuaded them from opening the locked terrace door and even offered the policemen Rs 25,000 to rush to Hemraj's village in Nepal.

The CBI and police mention they saw the concerted efforts by the Talwars to put the blame on Hemraj as a diversionary tactic. Meanwhile, doctors visiting the Talwars saw bloodstains on the handle of the locked terrace door. They also saw wiped bloody footmarks and blood stains on the upper staircase. Rajesh was asked for the keys but he went inside his residence after seeing the blood-stained door handle. The police failed to open the door for a full day.
Aarushi's body was taken for a post-mortem in Noida at about 9 a.m. and her last rites performed late in the evening. The Talwars' domestic staff showed undue haste in thoroughly cleaning up floors and walls of Aarushi's room with soap and water. Aarushi's blood-stained mattress was dumped on the terrace belonging to neighbour Puneet Tandon.

Meanwhile, when the post-mortem report was being written between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on May 16, a telephonic loop was created between Rajesh's elder brother Dinesh Talwar, family friend Dr Sushil Chaudhury, K.K. Gautam, a retired deputy superintendent of police, and an unidentified number. Dinesh would call Chaudhury who would call Gautam. The latter would dial an unidentified number. This sequence was then reversed. This loop was created six times that evening. The CBI claims that it was done to delete references to "rape" in Aarushi's post-mortem report.

Some 28 fingerprint samples were lifted from the scene of crime and handed over to the CBI on May 20. This was 10 days before the case was formally handed over to the CBI. Most of the fingerprints, especially those on the whiskey bottle, were smudged.

Between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. on May 17, this loop was repeated twice. Soon after these calls were made, Gautam arrived at the Talwar house and asked for the terrace door to be opened after examining the site of crime. Before calling the local police to open the door, he called a top Uttar Pradesh police officer and then his journalist friends so that the door is opened in media glare. Gautam told them that there was likely to be an interesting discovery.
When the local police arrived at the Talwar residence, the media was already there. The keys to the terrace were still missing, so the lock was broken to enter the terrace. Hemraj's body was discovered. However, vital clues were missing-the blood-soaked clothes of the perpetrators, the cloth used to clean the floor and the sheet on which Hemraj's body was dragged.

Source: Arushi murder case: The untold story

Happy New Year 2011 !!

Very Happy New year 2011 !!

Mahatma Gandhi has maximum quotes on Internet !!

Mahatma Gandhi is known for many things but he has to his name the maximum number of quotations by any Indian on the Internet.

The Internet has a large number of sites which offer quotations on a variety of topics ranging from friendship, love, destiny, life, death, peace and politics. But the net has one site which gives quotations from people from all walks of life all over the world.

The site address is http://www.quotationsbook.com and it features 106 quotations from the Mahatma.

One quotation attributed to him says "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."

Another quotation says "It is easy enough to be friendly to one's friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business."

The Mahatma is also quoted as saying, "Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."

He has also said "You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty."

Apart from Mahatma Gandhi, there are a number of other Indians from whom quotations can be seen on the site. These people include the Nation's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, former president S Radhakrishnan, Swami Vivekanand and Indira Gandhi.

These people do not match the Mahatma as individually they do not have even 20 quotes to their credit.

One Indian whose name comes as a surprise on this site is that of Oscar award winning music composer, A R Rahman.

He has got only one quote which reads simply, "All my life I have had a choice of hate and love. I chose love and I am here."

Among world politicians, those who surpass the Mahatma are former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill with 183 quotes and former US President John F. Kennedy with 146 quotes.

Noted English writer Oscar Wilde have got 432 quotes and he is followed by William Shakespeare with 420 quotes.

Among religious texts the Bible leads with 370 quotes, The Bhagavad Gita has 45 quotes while the Quran nine quotes.
Read More: Mahatma Gandhi has maximum quotes on Internet

Each Unique ID number costs Rs.100: Nilekani !!

It costs the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Rs.100 to generate each 'aadhaar' number, which will help address the challenges of inclusion, the authority's chief Nandan Nilekani, said here Thursday.

Ideally It costs the authority Rs.50 to enrol each individual for the Unique ID (UID) and another Rs.50 on back-end costs, he said.

In his address at the annual Rajinder Mathur Memorial Lecture here, Nilekani said that the aadhaar number will help in making public expenditure more equitable and in building new services for the people.

Nilekani, who took questions after speaking of benefits of the UID, said the country needed well-defined privacy laws to prevent any malicious use of data.

Answering queries about the demand by social activists like Aruna Roy and Jean Dreze against linking the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) to the UID, he said that the number should not be used in a way that it denies benefits to anyone.

'Aadhar should not be a basis of discrimination,' he said.

The social activists had, in a statement, said plans to link MGNREGA to Aadhaar should be revoked as it 'threatens to cause havoc' in the fragile structure of the scheme that provides for 100 days of jobs a year to rural households.

Nilekani said the UID can be sufficient identity to open a bank account or get a mobile phone SIM card. Pointing out that penetration of banks was quite low in rural areas, he said the UID can facilitate extending banking to every village.

The UID number will also be beneficial for people who migrate from one part of the country to the other, he added.

Answering queries about possibility of data being misused, he said that the only service provided by the UIDAI was authentication.

'UID is one part of privacy issue. We need a larger privacy and data protection law,' he said.

Nilekani said he wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue in May and the government has come out with an approach paper to elicit the people's viewse.

Read more Each Unique ID number costs Rs.100: Nilekani

SUV owners should pay full market price of diesel: Ramesh !!

Continuing with his attack on diesel-guzzling cars like sports utility vehicles (SUVs), Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh today asked the users of such cars to pay full market price for the fossil fuel which is being sold at subsidised rates for farmers.

"Why should they get subsidised fuel meant for farmers," Ramesh asked while speaking at a conference on 5th Sustainability Summit organised by CII.

"We introduce the (diesel) subsidy for a certain economic purposes but have ended up with a wholly different purpose...," he said while favouring incentives to the firms aiming at sustainable development.

However, he made it clear that his "deliberate" criticism of the vehicles, which had created some-what of a controversy recently, need not be seen as being anti-automobile sector.

"I am not knocking the growth of the automotive industry but those who want to use diesel cars must pay the full market price for the fuel. Why should they get subsidised fuel meant for farmers?" he said.

Ramesh said there was a need for creating an incentive structure from a fiscal point of view particularly which rewards and added that stimulating sustainable development at the producer-end is absolutely important.

The remarks by Ramesh, who had earlier called SUVs as criminals and Socially Useless Vehicles for being bad emitters, has raised a storm in the auto sector with BMW manufacturer Germany taking a serious exception to it.

The Minister also called for an incentive structure which has to be skewed in favour of sustainable development choice as far as consumers are ready to embrace such mechanism.

Read More: SUV owners should pay full market price of diesel

Citing deficit, Obama freezing federal worker pay !!

President Barack Obama announced a two-year pay freeze for federal employees Monday, and warned the American public that the move is the first of many difficult decisions that must be made to reduce the nation's mounting deficits.

"The hard truth is that getting this deficit under control is going to require some broad sacrifice, and that sacrifice must be shared by the employees of the federal government," Obama said.

The freeze would apply to all civilian federal employees, including those working at the Department of Defense, but would not affect military personnel. The freeze is expected to save more than $5 billion in savings over two years, $28 billion over five years and more than $60 billion over 10 years, White House officials said.

Congress is not covered by Obama's executive branch order. But lawmakers voted last April to freeze their pay, with the House and Senate opting to forgo an automatic $1,600 annual cost-of-living increase.

While Obama said the federal employee salary freeze was necessary to put the nation on sound fiscal footing, he also said that he didn't reach the decision lightly.

"This is not just a line item on a federal ledger," he said. "These are people's lives."

Read More: Citing deficit, Obama freezing federal worker pay

Five Dilemmas That Managers Face !!

Being a manager is a heady position. But this role also comes with certain responsibilities and many anxieties.

Young managers may not have all the right skills needed to fulfill their managerial duties. If you’ve been a manager for a while, you may be getting frustrated that your company hasn’t yet promoted you further. At various stages of your managerial tenure, different types of questions and doubts may linger in your mind.

Often, a frank conversation with your superiors, your peers or even your team members — depending on the situation — can help resolve your quandaries. Here are some other ways to tackle five common dilemmas that managers face in their jobs or in their careers.

1. Poor people skills

As a manager, one of your most important jobs is to communicate with and motivate your team members and also to deal with other team heads and higher-ups in your organization.

To do this effectively, it’s essential that you have the ability to work and communicate with various types of people, including those junior and senior to you. That could be a challenge, particularly for someone who is an introvert.

One way to get more comfortable around people, especially your team, is to spend more time with them. Consider setting up a weekly lunch or coffee with your team members and use the opportunity to ask about their work and how it can be improved. Remember, you don’t have to become their best friend.

At the same time, check if your organization has any programs to help out people in your situation. For instance, some organizations have programs in which the manager is “assigned a buddy, mentor or can be coached on the skill he needs,” says Neetasha Joshi, senior vice president and head of human resources at Tata AIG Life Insurance Co. Ltd.

2. The challenge of decision-making

A manager’s decisions can have an impact on an entire team, so your decisions are more important than ever before. But not all of us are born with good decision-making skills. How do you acquire them?

One way could be by observing your superiors in situations where they have to make decisions, says Alpana Sagar, vice president of human capital at Feedback Ventures, a infrastructure-service provider.

For tough decisions, ask your boss for specific guidance. It might help to read books on management and leadership skills, or maybe even take a leadership course.

When it comes to important decisions which will affect the entire team, try to canvass opinion from various parties including team members. What do they think would be the solution to a particular problem, you might ask? This can make them feel included in the decision-making process and may throw up some factors for you to consider which you might not have thought of yourself.

3. Career fatigue

After a few years on the job as a manager, there might come a time when you feel like you have stopped learning in your role and are stagnating. To counter this career fatigue, try to take on more responsibility or new initiatives to make your existing role more exciting.

If that’s not a possibility, it might be time to consider another role in the company that you would like to take on. Figure out what skills would be needed for that role and “then create a plan for how you want to build them,” said Praful Bhat, executive vice president of human resources at Godrej Agrovet Ltd, in an email response.

Sign up for company programs that train managers “on new facets of the business or best practices,” says Inasu George, senior manager of business planning and transition at Fidelity National Financial India, a financial services company.

4. The money question

This dilemma haunts professionals at various levels of their career.

You are ambitious and want to fatten your paycheck as soon as possible. You know there might be competitors who would pay you more and give you a better designation than you currently have. When does it make sense to jump ship?

Experts caution against being too hasty in changing jobs because in today’s times it can leave a bad impression that you are money-hungry.

“First, look for a change in the same place and climb the ladder as much as (you) can,” says Ashesh Amin, director of apparel and retail at S. Kumar Nationwide Ltd. “Improve yourself by managing and learning multiple roles.”

That will improve your market value within the organization, helping your chances for a better salary. If that doesn’t happen, with your improved skills, you can get an even better job outside the organization at a later point.

5. Unmet expectations

You have been managing a team for a while and you feel ready to step up to the next level. Perhaps your company or boss had suggested a period of time after which you might be promoted and that has not happened. This may lead to restlessness and doubts.

To resolve this situation, first conduct an honest introspection of what you have achieved. Have you met the targets expected of you and gained the experience necessary?

Organizations often care more about the manager’s depth of knowledge, rather than the number of years he or she has spent in the role, says Ms. Joshi of Tata AIG Life.

Consider having a frank discussion with your boss. What else do you need to do to move to the next level? If he or she is not approachable, ask for feedback from peers, senior managers and even your team about how you are performing.

Read More: Five Dilemmas That Managers Face