JMM-BJD alliance hangs in fire for LS poll

New Delhi (PTI): Even though it has pledged support to the BJD government for the trust vote in Orissa, the JMM on Tuesday remained non-committal about an alliance with the Naveen Patnaik-led party for the Lok Sabha elections.

"We have yet not decided with which party we would go. We may contest the next Lok Sabha election even alone as then we would be able to contest more seats," state President of the party Sudam Marandi said on asked whether he will go with BJD in the Lok Sabha elections.

With the JMM still to decide on its future relationship with the BJD, it remains uncertain whether the Shibu Soren-led party will forge an alliance with the latter for the assembly elections in the state which are not far off.

Mr. Marandi was speaking to reporters after the four JMM MLAs, who have pledged their support to the BJD government two days back, met Soren here. The party MLAs along with its state president came here last evening to discuss the matter with Mr. Soren.

The JMM has five MLAs and one MP in Orissa. With the Orissa unit of the JMM backing the BJD, speculation was rife that it could tie up with Naveen Patnaik-led party in the state under a third front arrangement for the coming elections. "There is difference between situations in Orissa and Jharkhand. We will think how to expand the party in Orissa," Mr. Marandi said when asked to comment on the decision of the state unit of the JMM to back the BJD in the backdrop of the party being a key ally of the UPA in Jharkhand.

Suicide car bombing kills 25 in Iraq

Baghdad (Xinhua): A suicide car bomb attack ripped through a tribal leaders' gathering in Iraq's Abu Ghraib area on Tuesday, killing at least 25 people and wounding 20, an interior ministry source said.

A suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden car into a crowd of tribal leaders and senior army officers while they were leaving the town hall, 20 km west of Baghdad, the source said.

The commander of an Iraqi Army battalion was among the killed. Iraqi state-run television said that its reporter was seriously wounded in the attack.

Reply to Pak on Mumbai attacks this week

New Delhi (PTI): India is expected to reply to Pakistan's questions on Mumbai attacks this week, giving further information about the terror strikes with the hope that it would be used by Islamabad to bring perpetrators to justice.

The replies to the 30 questions asked by Pakistan are ready and are expected to be handed over to Islamabad this week, sources told PTI here today but did not give details. Pakistan, in response to the Indian dossier of evidence given on January 5, had posed 30 questions on February 12. In its questionnaire, Pakistan had sought fingerprints and DNA profiles of all the 10 terrorists who carried out the attacks.

Islamabad had also sought post-mortem reports of the nine killed terrorists and their detailed description and information as provided by Kasab.

Pakistan had requested for "authenticated copy" of the confessional statement of lone captured terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab as recorded by judicial authorities and "other documentation/diaries recovered from his possession". It had also sought mobile numbers used by Kasab in the past, if he had disclosed these during interrogation.

BJP MLA quits to support BJD in trust vote

Bhubaneswar (PTI): BJP in Orissa on Tuesday suffered another jolt with one of its leading MLAs announcing resignation from the party, a day before Naveen Patnaik-led government was due to seek trust vote in Orissa Assembly.

"I have sent resignation letter to BJP president and Speaker of the Assembly. I will vote in support of the Naveen government," BJP MLA from Talcher, Mahesh Sahu said, adding that he resigned for alleged indiscpline in State BJP.

Mr. Sahu was elected to Assembly twice in a row in 2000 and 2004 on a BJP ticket. Though he was aspiring to get a berth in the cabinet, the party did not allow him, source said.

Mr. Sahu was the third BJP MLA to resign from BJP within 15 days. Earlier Brundaban Majhi and Dhaneswar Majhi had resigned from BJP.

However, Sananda Marandi, an MLA from Kualiana in Mayurbhanj district, had resigned from the party a few days ago and withdrew the letter later.

Mr. Sahu's resgination came a day after former minister Bed Prakash Agarwal resigned from BJP.

Both Mr. Sahu and Mr. Agarwal were likely to join

3-tier security for Kasab at Arthur Rd jail

IANS

Mumbai: The Arthur Road Jail here is being fortified with three security rings to keep Mohammed Ajmal Amir alias Kasab, the sole 26/11 terrorist captured alive, safe from potential attackers, Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Naseem Khan said on Tuesday.

"A crack team of the Mumbai Police will guard the outer periphery of the jail while the ITBP (Indo-Tibetan Border Police) will guard the precincts inside. The core area where Kasab is lodged will be guarded by the jail's own security set-up," Mr. Khan told IANS.

All parts of the jail will be monitored by cameras, some of which will be hidden. The images will be relayed to a central control room being manned by security officials, he added.

Barriers of different types, including reinforced steel-concrete walls that can resist bombs, grenades and rapid fire weapons, are being erected for the first time inside the 84-year-old jail, making it among the most secure prisons in the country, a police official said.

Kasab, along with nine other terrorists, embarked on a killing spree here on November 26, 2008 that lasted nearly 60 hours. Over 170 people lost their lives in the carnage.

He is lodged in the famous "anda cell" — called so because it is oval in shape — which is usually reserved for the most notorious criminals