Court grants bail to Nanda

New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Thursday granted bail to industrialist Anil Nanda, accused of bringing goods worth over Rs 50 lakh into the country without paying customs duty.

Justice H.R. Malhotra ordered Nanda?s release on bail upon furnishing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety of the like amount, said Nanda?s counsel R.K. Anand.

He was also asked to surrender his passport and not to visit foreign countries without court sanction.

On Monday, additional chief metropolitan magistrate Ravinder Dudeja had turned down Nanda?s bail application after the department of revenue intelligence which arrested him said an investigation was still pending.

Nanda was arrested on October 14 from the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on his arrival from London on a British Airways flight. According to the department, he had not declared the goods he was carrying to customs authorities at the airport.

The department also detained three employees of Nanda who were allegedly travelling with him. Officials of the department said the employees told them that Nanda had used them as ?carriers? to bring the goods into the country. However, only Nanda was arrested as he was the ?real culprit?, the department?s counsel said.

Governor shuffle whispers

New Delhi: Union home minister Shivraj Patil met President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on Thursday ? the second time in three days ? triggering speculation of major gubernatorial changes, one of them being the transfer of Rajasthan governor M.. Khurana, reports our special correspondent.

Patil is also learnt to have held a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that continued for well over an hour. Raj Bhawan changes are said to have figured in the talks.

The tenure of four governors comes to an end in the next two months and the United Progressive Alliance government is keen to carry out its second major shuffle in Raj Bhawans since coming to power in May.

Apart from Khurana, governor of Tamil Nadu Ram Mohan Rao and Goa?s governor S.C. Jamir are being considered for a transfer.

The UPA had earlier removed the governors of Gujarat, Goa and Madhya Pradesh, who were known to be close to the NDA, evoking sharp reactions from the BJP and other Opposition parties.

J&K temples attacked

Jammu (PTI): Militants opened fire at two temples during the Navratra puja in Rajouri and Doda districts in Jammu and Kashmir.

A group of militants opened fire from a hilltop on pilgrims at the Roshar temple on Thursday morning. A girl was injured and admitted to hospital. Militants attacked the Mangla Mata temple on the outskirts of Rajouri town the night before, but no one was injured.

Girl sacrificed

Lucknow (PTI): A four-year-old girl was sacrificed by her neighbours to propitiate Goddess Durga in Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh. The body of Garima, who was hacked to death in Bajahara village ?to ward off evil spirits? on the advice of a tantrik on Tuesday, was exhumed the next day after a family member involved in the crime spilled the beans.

Airport mishap

New Delhi (PTI): An airline employee was crushed to death on Thursday by a bus belonging to another carrier at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The bus, used by Jet Airways to transport passengers inside the airport, hit Balbir Singh, who was on security duty for Air Sahara.

Bom Jesus fire

Panaji (PTI): A fire broke out on Wednesday night in the basilica of Bom Jesus, the resting place of Goa?s patron saint, St Francis Xavier. The flames were controlled before they could spread to the church area.

Train dacoity

Kanpur (PTI): Six dacoits looted cash and valuables from passengers of a second-class sleeper coach of the Delhi-bound Brahmaputra Express late on Wednesday night. The bandits escaped after pulling the chain near Fatehpur station.

Judge house loot

Guna (Madhya Pradesh) (PTI): Thieves decamped with goods and ornaments from the house of first class judicial magistrate H.K. Mishra in Aaron, 50 km from here.

Twelve theatre groups and nearly 300 actors will participate in the sixth national theatre festival for children to be organised by the National School of Drama in New Delhi next week.