Now showing: Pirates in net
Police have seized over a thousand VCDs, and hundreds of MP3 and DVD films being sold illegally in raids on scores of shops in Uttar Pradesh’s Faizabad after receiving complaints from the Delhi-based Indian Music Industry.
The booty included several DVDs and MP3s of new releases Om Shanti Om and Saawariya, apart from films like Cash, Dhol and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.
“This raid reflects the deep-rooted illegal counterfeiting market operating in India. Seizure of DVDs like OSO and Saawariya, both released recently, is an eye-opener for the industry and the law enforcement agencies at large,” said Vijay Lazarus, the president of the music association, a consortium of 75 top music companies.
Hari Om, the man believed to be the mastermind of the piracy racket, has been arrested. According to the police, Hari manufactured pirated versions of movies and MP3s and then supplied them to markets in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. In all, the police have recovered 1,005 VCDs, 238 MP3s and 204 DVDs.
Killers strike, cops grope
Tamil Nadu police find themselves in a bind over three high-profile murder cases they are struggling to crack.
The most embarrassing among them is about the body of a former vice-chancellor’s wife that was found in Tindivanam, 500km from Nagercoil, where her husband was killed earlier along with the watchman of their house.
The shock waves from the murder of Malik Mohammed, who once presided over Kozhikode University, and wife Kajeetha Beevi are still being felt. Investigators have picked up a few suspects but they are nowhere near clues that will help solve the mystery.
The couple’s murder was followed by the killing of the DMK’s Tiruvarur district secretary, P. Kalaichelvan, by a gang carrying wedding invitation cards. Soon after, an ADMK secretary was bumped off in Chengalpattu.
Writing on the wall: Warranty
After durables, houses for the poor will come with a warranty.
The Andhra Pradesh State Housing Corporation has signed an agreement with Anmlex Kolleri, a company offering building solutions, to supply pre-cast wall panels with a warranty of 10 years.
The corporation will provide houses where repairs will be carried out for free. Walls damaged within the warranty period will be replaced.
According to housing minister Botsa Satyanarayana, such warranties will initially be offered only in the low-cost dwelling units built under the state government’s Indiramma scheme for the poor.
All panels supplied by the company will have a guarantee of 10 years under another pact sealed between the occupant, the supplier and an insurance firm.
Complaints about manufacturing defects will be attended to by the company and the insurer will reimburse the amount to the supplier, the minister said.
“Ours is the first state to go in for pre-cast housing technology in the government housing projects,” the minister said.
Health institute
The capital will soon have an autonomous institute focusing on public health education and research.
The Rs 140-crore facility, to be set up by the Public Health Foundation of India, will be the first of the many such institutes that will come up in other cities as well.
The agreement to build the institute, on land leased by the state government in the Kanjhwala area, was signed last week in the presence of chief minister Sheila Dikshit.
Delhi: Five young Tibetans from Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, will present “Art in exile”, an exhibition of their paintings expressing their understanding of Buddhism and Tibetan identities this Thursday. The venue is the India Habitat Centre. Time: Between 10am and 8pm.
