Consumer cover on rail hospitals

New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court has ruled that railway hospitals providing free treatment to its employees are liable for deficient service under the consumer protection act.

A bench of Justices Ruma Pal and C.K. Thakker also set aside a concurring order of a state consumer forum and the National Consumer Disputed Redressal Commission holding that as the services were rendered free of cost, it could not fall within the purview of the consumer protection act.

A railway employee, I.T. Kotgiri, accused the Central Railway-run B.R. Ambedkar hospital of negligence leading to his wife?s death and claimed compensation under the act.

The apex court said where medical service was rendered as part of the terms and conditions of service, it would not amount to free service and would constitute service for a cosideration, bringing the hospital under the purview of the consumer protection act.

The bench said there was no dispute that the treatment in the railway hospital was given to the appellant and his family members as part of the conditions of his service .

Rebels raise Andhra pitch

Guntur (PTI): Naxalites gunned down a Telugu Desam Party activist in Guntur district on Thursday night and set a telephone exchange in Mehboobnagar district on fire on Friday, following the breakdown of peace talks with the Andhra Pradesh government.

Desam worker G. Nageswara Rao, 30, was pulled out of his house by suspected masked members of the CPI (Maoist) at Morjampadu village and taken to the village square where he was charged with being a police spy. He was then shot from point blank, sources said.

Rao, who worked as a taxi driver, was popular in the village for his social work.

Superintendent of police Jitender has condemned the killing and accused the rebels of targeting poor tribals and the downtrodden.

Another group of about 10 armed Maoists entered the telephone exchange in Devarkadra area and torched the facility, Mehboobnagar superintendent of police Vikram Singh Mann said.

Communication links in about half-a-dozen villages have been disrupted, Mann said.?This was a peaceful area and no Naxalite activities have been reported for the last three years,? he said. ?The situation was alarming as they are now freely moving with weapons in peaceful areas.?

Hijack threat at airport

Chennai (PTI): Security has been tightened at the airport following an alert from the civil aviation ministry that a Sharjah-bound Indian Airlines flight would be hijacked by terrorists.

Central Industrial Security Force and fire brigade personnel checked passengers, airport sources said. The Chennai-Coimbatore-Cochin-Sharjah flight left at 2.30 in the afternoon.

Dawood brother

Mumbai (PTI):The younger brother of don Dawood Ibrahim, Iqbal Kaskar, has urged a special court for speedy trial. Kaskar, held in judicial custody in a case of alleged builder-underworld nexus, filed a hand-written application on Thursday. Judge A.P. Bhangale scheduled a hearing on January 24. Iqbal is charged with helping the underworld in channelising money into real estate.

Life sentence

Jhunjhunu (PTI): A court on Wednesday sentenced to life imprisonment seven persons, for lynching a person over a land dispute two years ago in Rajasthan. The convicts attacked one Mahavir Prasad and his brother with axes while they were working in a field.

Rape attempt

Khandwa (PTI): A constable was remanded in judicial custody for allegedly attempting to rape a tribal woman in an inebriated state in Madhya Pradesh. Prabhulal Kothari of the Special Armed Force?s 36th batallion and two of his colleagues barged into the woman?s house at a construction site, police said.

Truck mishap

Raisen (PTI): Two persons were killed and six injured, including a five-year-old boy, when a truck rammed into a tailoring shop at Sumer village in Madhya Pradesh. The truck driver, Sachdev, lost control when the steering rod of the vehicle broke, police said.

Firm looted

Ahmedabad (PTI): Three armed men looted over Rs 6 lakh from a courier firm in Bhuj town. The trio fled with the money in a car.

Nearly 560 armymen of the 22 Grenadiers left for Congo to join Indian troops deployed there in United Nations peacekeeping operations. Their task is to establish a conducive and secure environment in the war-torn country.