Don’t return that missed call!

At around 1.35 am on Thursday, Ranita D'souza heard her phone ring. This woke her up and just as she was about to take the call, the caller disconnected. The caller's code was +216. Assuming it was important, Ranita returned the call. Although her call was answered, to her surprise, there was no response from the other end. Ranita hung up but by now Rs 60 had been deducted from her prepaid account.

Lately, this has been a common occurrence and callers are being conned into returning these dodgy calls. This is being called the 'One Ring Scam'. The callers have automatic diallers and they call random numbers. It is a general tendency to return calls, especially ones made at an awkward time for fear of there being an emergency.

Upon returning these calls, you are sometimes directed to an expensive international hotline - usually an adult site. People would find this offensive, obviously. At other times, callers are kept engaged with music and other sounds. Certain other users get messages saying "Please call me back, this is urgent." Not only are calls to these numbers expensive, staying on call increases your risk of losing data.

Sharath Tejasvi, who handles Corporate Communication at Airtel said, "All operators and even the Department of Telecommunication have alerted customers asking them not to take such calls," he said. "About a year back, we received complaints about a group based in Africa that would retrieve data stored on a person's phone through such calls," he said.

Currently, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, (TRAI), has advised customers not to pick up unknown calls with the code +92 (Pakistan) and +375 (Belarus). If you receive such calls, make sure not to call back. Also, bring up the matter with your operator.

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Father of rescued Jesuit priest thanks Narendra Modi

CHENNAI/MADURAI: The father of Jesuit priest Fr Alexis Prem Kumar on Sunday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for securing the release of his son from the custody of Taliban militants in Afghanistan.

"The Prime Minister spoke to me to inform me about my son's release from captivity. We have been waiting for this day. I must thank the Prime Minister for his personal efforts. I also thank the state government," Fr Alexis's father A S M Antony (77), a retired school teacher, told TOI.

Antony and two other family members were going to Delhi to receive Fr Alexis.

READ ALSO: India secures release of Jesuit priest Fr Alexis Prem Kumar from captivity in Afghanistan

Albert Manoharan, brother of Fr Alexis, said that none of them could believe it. "First we could not believe that we were receiving a phone call from the Prime Minister of India and second that our brother who was abducted has been released,'' he said.

Manoharan said they would organize a thanksgiving meeting "for this miracle."

"I wanted to go to New Delhi. But I had to stay back to make the arrangements,'' he said.

Meanwhile, the news of the release of the priest spread like wildfire in his native Devakottai in the Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu.

Neighbours thronged the house to congratulate the family. "Earlier, they were known as the family of a Taliban prisoner, but now they are known as a family which received a call from the Prime Minister. It was a very laudable gesture by the Prime Minister,'' said a neighbour.

Fr Alexis, who was working with the International Catholic NGO Jesuit Refugee Service in Afghanistan, was abducted by the Taliban on June 2 last.

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Father of rescued Jesuit priest thanks Narendra Modi

CHENNAI/MADURAI: The father of Jesuit priest Fr Alexis Prem Kumar on Sunday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for securing the release of his son from the custody of Taliban militants in Afghanistan.

"The Prime Minister spoke to me to inform me about my son's release from captivity. We have been waiting for this day. I must thank the Prime Minister for his personal efforts. I also thank the state government," Fr Alexis's father A S M Antony (77), a retired school teacher, told TOI.

Antony and two other family members were going to Delhi to receive Fr Alexis.

READ ALSO: India secures release of Jesuit priest Fr Alexis Prem Kumar from captivity in Afghanistan

Albert Manoharan, brother of Fr Alexis, said that none of them could believe it. "First we could not believe that we were receiving a phone call from the Prime Minister of India and second that our brother who was abducted has been released,'' he said.

Manoharan said they would organize a thanksgiving meeting "for this miracle."

"I wanted to go to New Delhi. But I had to stay back to make the arrangements,'' he said.

Meanwhile, the news of the release of the priest spread like wildfire in his native Devakottai in the Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu.

Neighbours thronged the house to congratulate the family. "Earlier, they were known as the family of a Taliban prisoner, but now they are known as a family which received a call from the Prime Minister. It was a very laudable gesture by the Prime Minister,'' said a neighbour.

Fr Alexis, who was working with the International Catholic NGO Jesuit Refugee Service in Afghanistan, was abducted by the Taliban on June 2 last.

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Budget session starts on Monday, PM Narendra Modi appeals to opposition for cooperation

NEW DELHI: The government on Sunday made a vigorous bid to seek opposition's cooperation as it faces a torrid Budget session of Parliament starting on Monday but rival parties appeared to be in mood to relent on some thorny issues like the controversial land ordinance.

At a meeting of political parties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for cooperation for the benefit of common man while parliamentary affairs minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the government is willing to walk the "extra mile" to accommodate opposition's cocnerns.

Modi made a strong plea for ensuring smooth functioning of Parliament as the Budget session is very crucial and people look at it with lots of hopes and aspirations. The Budget session lasts till March 20 and the Parliament will reconvene on April 20 and the session is due to conclude on May 8.

The leaders of all political parties should collectively ensure proper utilisation of time in both Houses of Parliament "so that we can work towards meeting the hopes and aspirations of people", he said about the session during which his nine-month old government will present its first full-fledged Budget on February 28.

READ ALSO: Budget 2015: FM may give sops for middle class

"It is the collective responsibility of leaders of all parties to ensure that this session runs smoothly so that the House can fulfill aspiratations of people ... Hope we can collectively work for the benefit of common man," Modi said.

Referring to the various issues that opposition is waiting to raise, he told the leaders attending the meeting, "I can assure you that all the issues you have referred to will be discussed adequately and appropriately in order of their priority and importance."

Earlier, the tone for the conciliatory approach was set when Naidu, in an unusual gesture, drove to Congress president Sonia Gandhi's residence to meet her to seek cooperation of the largest opposition party in carrying out the legislative business.

"The government is willing to walk the extra mile to accommodate the opposition. My only appeal is that House should be allowed to function smoothly," Naidu said later.

However, the opposition parties appeared to be unimpressed and made clear their mood to take on the government, particularly on the move to amend the Land Acquisition Act.

Union Budget 2015: Full coverage

Leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said that Congress will not support those ordinances and bills, which "do not help people".

JD(U) president Sharad Yadav said it will be a "fight to the finish" as he lashed out at the government, saying it had made the land law worse than what existed during the British time.

Naidu admitted that some opposition parties expressed reservations against the land ordinance move even as there was "broad consensus" on five other Ordinances to be converted into acts.

While describing his meeting Gandhi as a "cordial" one, Naidu said she expressed concerns over Land Ordinance.

Naidu acknowledged that land acquisition is an "emotive issue" and needs to be addressed "sincerely without undue politicization".

Significantly, Naidu, unlike earlier, evaded direct reply to questions about the possibility of convening a joint session to pass the bills in the face of the non-cooperation of the opposition.

The meeting saw the leaders seeking debate on a variety of issues including the communal statements by some members of BJP and Sangh Parivar, attack on churches, swine flu situation, agrarian crisis, Indo-Pak border situation, minimum support price for farm produce.

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TN fishermen worried about delay in getting their boats back from Sri Lanka despite release order

MADURAI: Though Sri Lanka ordered the release of 81 boats of Tamil Nadu fishermen on February 12, ahead of President Maithripala Sirisena visit to India, the inordinate delay in repatriating the boats has become a cause of concern for the fishers in the state.

The fisheries officials who left the country with power of attorney from fishermen on February 12 are yet to return. The fishermen are clueless why there is delay in getting their boats back.

"Ten days have passed since Sri Lankan courts released our boats, but we don't know when we will get our boats back. Officials say some boats have been damaged and that is the reason for delay," said P Muniasamy whose boat has been moored in Talaimannar since June last.

S Emerit, a fishermen leader in Rameswaram, said their representatives should have been included in the team that went to Sri Lanka.

"Only fishermen can assess the extent of damage to boats and the methods to salvage them with minimum cost. They could arrange a voyage for couple of fishermen and fishermen leaders to Sri Lanka to inspect these boats. As of now only officials are in Sri Lanka, and we are left to wonder what is happening there," he said.

U Arulanandam of the Alliance for Release of Innocent Fishermen said there was no such delay in earlier incidents when the country released Indian boats.

"We are left to wonder why fisheries officials collected power of attorney from boat owners though Lankan courts released the boats without any such formalities. We used to collect court order through fax and sent salvage team from here. We used to get our boats back in a couple of days. Though the state government said it would bear expenses of repatriation of boats this time, such prolonged delay from fisheries department is puzzling our fishermen," he stated.

Fisheries official said they were waiting for salvage orders of the boats. Additional director of fisheries K Rengaraju said they were working out formalities and boats will be repatriated shortly.

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Maoist regional HQ destroyed, 3 arrested in Bihar

MUNGER: Security forces on Saturday destroyed a regional headquarters of Maoists and arrested three rebels besides recovering a huge cache of arms in Bhimbandh forest area in this district.

After getting intelligence inputs about the presence of East Bihar North Jharkhand (EBNJ) headquarters of Maoists in the forest, CRPF and police had launched a joint operation on February 17, Munger Deputy Inspector General (DIG) S P Shukla said.

Terming it a "major success" in the fight against Maoists, Shukla said the headquarters was being controlled by most wanted leader Parvez Da.

"Our forces surrounded the entire Bhimbandh area, which is a difficult terrain due to hills and dense tropical forest, and zeroed-in on the headquarters during late hours yesterday.

Around 40 to 50 men and women Maoists were present there, but most of them managed to escape under cover of jungle and darkness.

"However, our forces arrested three of them," Shukla said. The security forces seized a huge cache of explosives, including three litres of nitroglycerin, 60 Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), 5,000 metres of fuse wire, two bundles of cordex explosive wire, four walkie-talkies and some Maoist literature.

This is the first instance in the state that highly dangerous explosive like nitroglycerin has been recovered from Maoists, he said.

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Lalji Patel of Dharmanandan Diamonds brings home Modi Suit

SURAT: There were celebrations all round at Gotalawadi in Katargam when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mannequin donning his personalized pinstripe suit passed in an open jeep from the main road towards the Dharmanandan Diamonds Private Limited's plush factory.

Hundreds of people including the diamond workers, employees and the people from different walks of life participate in the procession shouting 'Modi, Modi' slogans. When the Modi suit arrived at the factory portico, the workers showered flower petals on the mannequin and distributed sweets.

READ ALSO: Sena defends Modi on auction of monogrammed suit

Lalji Patel issued a cheque amounting to Rs 4,31,31,311 in the name of Clean Ganga Fund and handed it over to district collector Dr Rajender Kumar.

Patel, chairman of Dharmanandan Diamonds and his managing director elder son, Hitesh Patel arrived at the art gallery of Science Centre flanked by over 300 diamond workers on the motorcycles wearing light-blue shirt and dark-blue pants and donning helmets to claim PM Modi's suit, which they won in the Friday's auction for Rs 4.31 crore.

READ ALSO: Rs 5 crore bid loses for being 2 minutes late

A procession of PM Modi's suit was taken out from Science Centre at Ghod Dod road to the Dharmanandan Diamonds factory at Gotalawadi in Katargam.

Patel, while posing for his photographs with the Modi mannequin said, "It's a very proud moment for me, my family and the entire Dharmanandan diamond family including my workers and staff members. Since last evening, I was trying to touch the fabric to have a feel, but culd not as the mannequin was secured in the glass cabinet. Now, I could touch and feel the fabric and experience the presence of PM Modi standing by my side."

Hitesh Patel, managing director of Dharmanandan Diamonds said, "We could have spent more to get PM Modi's suit. This is one of the best purchases of my life when all eyes were on this suit and we won it in the auction. I remember meeting Modiji at our house 12 years ago when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. He called up my father late on Friday night and congratulated us for winning his suit at the auction and thanked us for supporting the Ganga Cleanliness cause"

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2 Lashkar-e-Taiba commanders shot dead in encounter in Kashmir

SRINAGAR: Two "commanders" of terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) were gunned down on Saturday in an encounter with security forces in north Kashmir's Baramulla district, army said.

Numan and Abu Saad, both foreign nationals, were killed in a gunfight in Thak-Gund village of Sopore, an army spokesman said.

He said that based on input about the presence of foreign militants in the village, a joint operation was launched by the army and police to flush out the militants.

"While the cordon was being readjusted around the suspected house, the security forces received heavy automatic fire and a heavy gunfight ensued.

"By precise firing and without causing any collateral damage, the troops neutralised the two foreign terrorists," the spokesman said.

Two AK-47 rifles, seven magazines, 134 rounds of bullet, one radio set, one GPS device and a large quantity of war-like store were recovered from the possession of the slain militants.

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No official record of Modi being tea seller: RTI reply

NEW DELHI: There is no record available that shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a tea seller on railway platforms or trains during his childhood, an RTI query has revealed.

A Congress supporter and social activist Tehseen Poonawalla, had sought information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act from the railway board about whether there was any record, registration number or official pass issued to Modi allowing or entitling him to sell tea on trains and at stations.

Quoting the RTI response from the railway ministry, she said: "No such information is available in TG III branch of tourism and catering directorate of railway board."

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China summons Indian envoy over Narendra Modi’s Arunachal visit

BEIJING: Chinese vice-foreign minister Liu Zhenmin on Saturday called in India's ambassador to China, Ashok K Kantha, to lodge a "stern representation" over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Liu expressed "strong dissatisfaction and staunch opposition" to the Indian side's insistence on arranging the visit by its leader to what he called "the disputed area" on the China-India border.

Modi visited Arunachal Pradesh on Friday to attend its 23rd State Foundation Day.

The Chinese embassy in India lodged a representation with the Indian authorities over the visit on Friday night.

"The Chinese government has never recognized the so-called Arunachal Pradesh," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a news release on Friday.

READ ALSO: PM Modi flags off Arunachal-Delhi train

During the meeting with ambassador Kantha, vice-foreign minister Liu pointed out that this act by the Indian side "undermined China's territorial sovereignty, right and interests", the Xinhua report said.

He said such an act by the Indian side artificially amplified differences between the two countries on the border issue and thus went against the principles and consensus that the two sides reached on properly addressing the issue.

Liu reiterated China's "consistent and clear-cut stance on the China-India border issue", saying the Chinese government "has never recognized the so-called Arunachal Pradesh unilaterally set up by the Indian side".

It was "an universally recognized, unevadable fact that significant disputes do exist on the eastern section of the China-India border", Liu said.

READ ALSO: Need time to resolve border disputes with India, China says

He emphasised that China placed importance on developing relations with India. He said the two countries, as neighbours and the top two developing countries in the world, shared broad prospects on cooperation at various levels.

Liu expressed the hope that the Indian side would treasure the sound momentum in the growth of bilateral relations, march toward the same goal with China and abide by the important consensus on the border issue.

Liu called on the Indian side not to take any action that might complicate the border issue and stick to the general orientation of resolving the issue through bilateral negotiations to maintain the overall growth of bilateral relations.

Modi, who arrived in Arunachal Pradesh's capital on Friday, flagged off the Naharlagun-New Delhi Express by pressing a button at a function held in Indira Gandhi Park in Itanagar.

The Prime Minister hoped the boost in communications through the railway would propel growth and development in Arunachal Pradesh and other parts of the northeast.

READ ALSO: China alarmed, tells India not to complicate border situation with new road

Modi, who was accompanied by Union railway minister Suresh Prabhu, minister of state for railways Manoj Sinha and minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju, also inaugurated an intercity train between Naharlagun and Guwahati and laid the foundation stone of a 132KV power transmission project and another project to provide pure drinking water to the residents of the capital town.

President Pranab Mukherjee's visit to the state last year had also drawn sharp reactions from China, which has often laid claim to the state.

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