Man smashes stolen Chennai train, 4 dead

In a serious security lapse, an unknown man “hijacked” a suburban electric train and drove it for three kilometres before ramming it into a stationary goods train early on Wednesday. The train was going at 90kmph when it hit the good train.

Four people died in the incident, including, probably, the hijacker, when the local hit the goods train at Vysarpadi Jeeva railway station. Two bogies of the train caught fire and another hit the footover bridge at Vyasarpadi station, which is 40 feet above the platform.

“We have an unidentified body of a 25-year-old man with north Indian features, we think he has done it,” railways DIG P. Sivanandi told this paper. Railway officials at the Chennai suburban terminal also saw him moving around suspiciously on April 25, 26 and 27, he said.

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Renigunta airport cleared

The Centre’s decision to develop Renigunta airport at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore will boost religious tourism and develop Rayalaseema region.

Thousands of devotees from the United States, Britain and other parts of the world visit Tirupati every year for the darshan of Lord Venkateswara.

At present, they are put to hardship because of the lack of connectivity and have to catch connecting flights from Chennai, Mumbai or Hyderabad to reach Tirupati. The frequency of flights will increase once the airport is modernised and the runway is extended to 11,000 feet from 7,500 feet. The airport will also be expanded to accommodate at least 700 passengers at once. Night landing facility is already present.

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Rs 40 crore drug racket busted: MD booked

A massive drug racket having links with the Chennai and Mumbai underworld was busted in the city by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.

DRI sleuths seized 100 kg of Ketamine, a hallucinatory drug, Ephedrine, a sex performance enhancer, and Acetic Anhydride, which is used to prepare heroin, in raids conducted in the city and Nellore. The seized drugs are valued to be around Rs 40 crore.

Three companies, Krebs of Nellore, and SS Research and Hygia from Hyderabad, were involved in the racket. Mr P. Venkateswaralu, 42, of SS Research, Shahul Hameed, 46, Sebastian Toni Raj, 34, M. Murali, 44, and Katif Salih Shafi of Chennai, and V. Kiran Raj Bhandari, 45, of Mumbai were arrested. They were produced in a Secunderabad court on Wednesday.

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Deccan Chronicle ’s B-daily brings funda into dhanda

Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd, one of India’s biggest media groups and publisher of the leading English daily Deccan Chronicle, today launched its newest print brand Financial Chronicle simultaneously from Hyderabad and Chennai.

At midnight, the newspaper became available on the website www.mydigitalfc.com. This is the first time in the history of journalism that a digital version has preceded the launch of the print version of a newspaper, in sync with the technological accomplishments of a nation in a hurry.

The daily business broadsheet, priced at Rs 1.50, is managed by a young team of media professionals and is mentored by one of the country’s most credible editorial advisory boards.

Well-known agricultural scientist and one of the fathers of India’s Green Revolution, Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, the TRAI chairman, Mr Nripendra Mishra, the founder and mentor of one of India’s most progressive software companies, Mr Subroto Bagchi, the member of Parliament, Mr Sachin Pilot, and the DCHL managing director, Mr P.K. Iyer, are on the board. The DCHL chairman, Mr T. Venkattram Reddy, is chairman of the advisory board.

Further, to uphold transparency and accountability, Financial Chronicle has appointed the former Sebi chairman, Mr M.Damodaran, as Ombudsman of the paper. In this capacity, Mr Damodaran will represent readers’ interest in the newsroom, forewarn the editorial team of the pitfalls of front line reporting, address readers’ grievances and uphold the values of clean and honest journalism.

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United States bans starlet, 200 for fake-visa racket

A list of persons, including South Indian film actors and directors who are alleged to have helped a number of people get US visas through illegal means, has been submitted by US consulate officials to the Chennai police for further action.

A senior Chennai police official disclosed that the list is now with the Chennai commissioner of police.

The racket was recently busted with the arrest of actress Flora Shiny, who has acted in a few Telugu and Tamil films. Following the unearthing of the racket, the US consulate in Chennai slapped a lifetime ban on travelling to the US on nearly 200 personalities from the South Indian film industry. They are reported to have used false credentials to apply for visas to the US. Many of the persons on that list are said to come from Andhra Pradesh.

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