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Thursday, July 08, 2010


NEW DELHI: Motorola has announced another Android-based smartphone, Charm. Based on Android 2.1, Motorola Charm sports a Qwerty keyboard and 2.8 inch touchscreen display.

Launched by T-Mobile in the US, Charm has second microphone for better voice quality.

Just like many of Motorola's other Android phones, Charm has MOTOBLUR for social networking. According to Motorola, Charm has an updated version of MOTOBLUR, which allows users to better filter their messages and customize the software's behavior. The company also said that the new software offers users the ability to tweak MOTOBLUR's power consumption (Motoblur is said to be a battery hog).

Motorola Charm has a 3-megapixel camera, with Kodak Perfect Touch software, but lacks auto-focus and digital zoom. There's microSD card slot that can support cards up to 32GB. Onboard phone memory is 2GB.

On the connectivity front, Charm will support 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth, GPS and Motorola's Crystal Talk Plus. The device also packs Exchange corporate email, Gmail, Google Talk, supports turn-by-turn navigation and more.

BANGALORE: A bloody denouement was played out at the Karnataka High Court on Thursday afternoon when a love-crazed advocate whipped out a knife and stabbed a woman colleague to death in a semi-deserted corridor. He then attempted suicide in the court's washroom.

Eyewitnesses said the gory act took place around 2pm when S L Rajappa (27), an advocate, stopped J S Naveena (24) between court number three and four. They seemed to have a short, hissy conversation after which Rajappa pulled out a knife and stabbed her in the chest, slashed her head and slit her throat. A heavily bleeding Naveena collapsed right there even as Rajappa tried to stab himself.

Azeemuddin, an advocate on his way to the washroom, witnessed the macabre drama. "It was lunch hour. When I went to the washroom, I saw the two speaking with each other near court hall 4. Then, as I came out, I saw the girl fall down with blood gushing out of her wounds. The next moment I saw that senior counsel Subrahmanya Jois was trying to give her water," Azeemuddin said.

He says he had barely recovered from the sight when he turned to see Rajappa trying to stab himself. "I tried to stop him, but he pointed the dagger towards me menacingly. I shouted that I would call the police. He ran to the washroom and locked himself in. The police arrived and broke open the door. He was inside with injuries to his chest with a bottle of poison next to him," Azeemuddin added.

Senior advocate Jois recalled: "It was probably 1.52pm when I saw a man and a woman (the young advocates) in the court corridor. Suddenly, I heard the woman scream. Blood gushed out of her wounds, and her voice was hoarse," he said.

"I yelled for the police, and tried to get the man who was running away. He ran towards the washroom, knife in hand. I locked it from outside as he bolted himself in. I rushed back to the spot where the girl had collapsed and gave her some water, but she couldn't drink. There was no police at the spot because it was lunch hour," Jois added.

The police have recovered a note from Rajappa's pen drive, which runs into more than two pages. The writing suggests that he was obsessed with Naveena. Police suspect that Rajappa, otherwise a soft-spoken man, wanted Naveena to live the way he wanted her to, but Naveena was focussed on her career. She spoke little and was a workaholic.

There are conflicting versions of the background to the bizarre murder. Some said Rajappa and Naveena were in love but, but Naveena got engaged to another man. Naveena's family rejects this, saying she wasn't engaged.

Rajappa was Naveena's senior in a college in Kolar; they both belong to that district. While Naveena was from Jambapura, Rajappa is from Bagepalli. Both worked under different senior advocates in Bangalore.

NEW DELHI: The Centre wants all `kutcha' houses to be replaced by durable, disaster-resistant structures by 2016-17. It forms the big expression of intent in the first-of-its-kind `rural housing and habitat policy' that UPA may announce soon.

The government wants to engage NGOs in rural housing, a sector the voluntary organisations have shunned till now. The government feels the rural populace will benefit from NGOs in the field of "technology dissemination" and "skill upgradation".

The `rural housing' policy, being readied by the Union rural development ministry, aims to right the balance as urban housing has dominated the policy landscape till now. The government role in rural housing presently is limited to Indira Awas Yojana, where it funds houses for rural poor. But IAY's reach is limited by budgetary considerations while there is a need to give a strong push to address housing shortage across the board.

The policy will help in giving uniform direction to all states though stray ones like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Gujarat have started moving in this regard.

According to the proposed policy, the states should provide `homestead' land to the homeless and ensure finances in rural housing sector. Acknowledging that credit was not easily available for rural poor, with private sector shunning them, the policy aims to nudge financial institutions to offer credit for rural housing. It said movement of credit to these pockets should be flexible to facilitate repayment, like keeping in mind the irregular and seasonal income streams and low cash surpluses.

Sources said RD ministry has set up a committee to list "bankable products" for rural housing like inter-subsidy scheme, housing shelter fund or even linking credit to people with flow of money like NREGA workers or self-help groups.

While seeking that `kutcha' houses be replaced nationally by 2016-17, the policy wants to make rural houses "environment-friendly, energy-efficient and disaster-resistant". It will entail a shift in design and material used for houses for poor.

The policy stretches the issue of housing to "habitat development". It means civic amenities will be a must when houses for poor come up. While access to water, hygienic environment, power supply, medical care, education, livelihood and community infrastructure are some of the amenities in an ideal habitat, sources said necessary amenities were non-negotiable.

NEW DELHI: Humiliated and repeatedly slapped by his teacher for coming late to class, an 11-year-old boy jumped off the second floor of his school building in east Delhi on Thursday morning. Miraculously, he survived the fall and is admitted in hospital with multiple fractures in both legs.

The boy, a class VI student at Mother Teresa Public School in Preet Vihar, was returning from an extra class in the zero period -- where he was preparing for an upcoming music competition -- when his class teacher flew into a rage accusing him of reporting late to class. The teacher has been identified as B Sudha.

"In his statement, the boy has said that Sudha slapped and reprimanded him. He has also alleged that he felt humiliated in front of the whole class. He walked out and jumped off the second floor, falling almost 20 feet to the ground," said K C Dwivedi, Additional Commissioner of Police (east). Ironically, the school is located just 500 metres from the headquarters of CBSE which has been campaigning against corporal punishment. The Supreme Court has banned physical punishment in schools.

A classmate of the student told TOI, "Sudha maam was angry at him for missing class without informing her and slapped him. When the boy appeared casual about the issue, she got angrier and reprimanded him sharply and slapped him again. He scribbled something in his notebook and ran outside. By the time we followed him, he had already fallen over the railing."

The child's parents claimed that he was held up by another teacher which resulted in a "minor delay in entering the class". "My son was merely following instructions," his father said.

The boy, reportedly good in studies, was scheduled to undergo surgery in both legs late Thursday night. The boy suffered multiple fractures in his right shin bone and left ankle as well as minor injuries to his face. "It is a miracle that he has escaped with such minor injuries. We have informed the police about the treatment process," said Niloy Mitra, chief administrator of Metro Hospital and Cancer Institute, where the child is admitted.

The victim's family said the school principal and chairman had assured them that action will be taken against the teacher. "We have also been offered financial support by the school but that is not necessary. We just want to get to the bottom of the issue and take care of the boy," claimed his mother, Sangeeta.

School chairman Ashok Jaitley and principal Neeta Jaitley refused to come on record on the incident despite being repeatedly contacted by TOI. Police said the school teachers had initially claimed that the boy fell off the stairs.

"We have registered a case of voluntary hurt and illegal confinement against the teacher, Sudha. We have not asked for the statement of the school as we will rely on the statement of the victim. His statement was recorded in the presence of his father," said I B Irani, additional DCP (east).

The incident comes weeks after Rouvanjit Rawla, student of a prominent Kolkata school -- La Martiniere for Boys -- allegedly committed suicide after being scolded by the principal.

He has eight legs but has never kicked a ball. That, however, hasn't stopped Paul the octopus from becoming the world's finest football forecaster.

With 100% correct predictions - six out of six - on the outcome of games in the 2010 World Cup, the four-year-old tentacled tipster is every bookmaker's envy too.

Everybody wants to know whom he will select as world champion. He is a global talking point. Google him and you get about 2,630,000 results.

Paul the octopus is currently among the top 10 trends on Twitter. And he is big enough to get death threats. Embittered by Argentina's loss to Germany - an outcome predicted by Paul - Argentine chef Nicolas Bedorrou wants to beat him to death

"In order to keep the meat tender and then put it in boiling water." Once a darling in Deutschland, most Germans now envision him fried in garlic butter after he predicted that the team would lose to Spain. Crowds are singing anti-octopus songs.

The internet too is overflowing with comments, especially now that Paul is to predict the final result - the first time he'll prophesy about a match not featuring Germany.

He should apply for express immigration to whichever country he picks as winner, says a Facebook entry.

MUMBAI: Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has filed a chargesheet in the Mazgaon metropolitan magistrate's court against health drink Complan's advertising claim that it can add two inches to children's height.

The FDA's chargesheet names seven officials of Heinz India Pvt Ltd in its petition dated May 3, 2010, clearly stating the offence as "an exaggerated advertisement on television channels about food article Complan". The company denied any knowledge about the case.

In an email response, Heinz India officials said, "We are not aware of any such complaint having been filed. We stand by our claim and would defend the same with appropriate research study." But FDA joint commissioner (food) C B Pawar told TOI that a month-long investigation had preceded the filing of the case.

What adds an interesting dimension to the case is the medical movement behind it. The mother who worries about her son being teased "half-ticket" appears to have incensed pediatricians. In fact, the movement began over 30 years ago when paediatrician Dr R K Anand -- also known as India's own Dr Spock for his parenting tips -- took on the MNC's might for suggesting that branded milk products could transform your infant into a "bonnie, bonnie baby".

In the late 1970s, Anand along with like-minded doctors formed the Association for Consumers' Action on Safety & Health (ACASH) and moved the Indian government into formulating the Infant Milk Substitute Act to stop using pictures of babies on tins and packs that could lure mothers to buy the products.

Cut to 2009, when after being flooded with queries from too many mothers about Complan's claims to add two inches, Anand decided to act again. He got in touch with doctors from the Indian Academy of Pediatrics, one of whom fished out the research paper on which Complan has based its ad campaign. A detailed analysis -- on email -- between doctors from various cities followed, thus providing adequate meat for the FDA to act.

"We moved the FDA in November 2009 with our case, stating that there was a clear violation of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act," said Anand.

ACASH again got in touch with FDA -- through enquiries under the Right to Information -- to find out the action taken on their report. It is only on Wednesday -- months after filing an appeal to the original RTI application -- that they got a copy of the FDA chargesheet.

According to the chargesheet, a copy of which is with TOI, FDA has complained against Heinz India Pvt Ltd in the chief metropolitan court, Mazgaon, for violating the provisions of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act 1954 and Rules. Seven officials of the company have been named in the chargesheet.

The chargesheet further states that it issued the company a show-cause notice after it received a complaint from ACASH about the exaggerated claims. But the petition notes that "the explanation was not satisfactory and relevant". The complainant investigated the complaint by observing the same on a channel.

According to Dr Arun Bal of ACASH, "Our complaint against Complan is a continuation of our monitoring of the infant market. The government while passing the Infant Milk Food Act had asked ACASH to monitor violations and we feel this is a case in point."

What Complan says

In an email response from Heinz India, "Our claim that children who drink Complan growing taller than others who don't is based on an independent scientific study conducted by the Department of Food Science and Nutrition of a reputed university in Tamil Nadu. The study proves that children who drink Complan along with a regular diet grow significantly faster in height compared to those who had only regular diet which is not properly planned."

According to the company, the study was peer-reviewed and conducted on 900 Indian children in the 7-12 year age groups over a period of 12 months. "The participating children attending schools included an equal number of boys and girls who were matched for age, height, weight and socio-economic status at the beginning of the study, to allow comparison after the year-long Complan supplementation."

What paediatricians say

The three control groups in the study were as follows: one group were put on a full diet, the second got a full diet plus Complan prepared in water and the third got a full diet plus Complan prepared in milk. The ad shows that the third group grows the best.

Dr R K Anand, the 77-year-old paediatrician from Jaslok Hospital, points out to simple logic: "If a child is given extra nutrition along with normal diet, he or she is bound to grow better."

Dr H P S Sachdev, Delhi-based former president of IAP and former professor from Maulana Azad Medical College, has pointed out: "The Complan trial does not seem to have been registered with clinical trial registries and so it is difficult to determine any deviation from protocol. Standard indexed international journals currently do not accept for publication any trial not registered in a standard clinical trials registry."

Sachdev states: "What is the rationale for doing this trial in 7-12 year old children when the burden of malnutrition is the greatest in under-five children? Obviously, the results cannot be extrapolated for children of all ages."

MOSCOW: In the lore of Soviet spycraft, few figures command as much respect as the "illegals", steel-jawed agents with the intelligence of a chess grandmaster and the fortitude of a cosmonaut.

Painstakingly trained in the KGB's Directorate S, the illegals spent years assuming a fake biography, known in Russian as a "legend", then awaited orders undercover for years or even decades. Unlike their "legal" counterparts, they worked without a diplomatic cover, which would offer them immunity from prosecution.
They were rewarded with the kind of adulation Americans reserve for movie stars.

This week's arrest of 11 people seems to offer a glimpse into a recent form of the program. But if prosecutors are correct, two things seem clear: First, that Russia's network of illegals has survived, and perhaps even grown, since the Soviet Union's collapse. And second, that the agents' assignment — collecting information about politics and getting to know policy makers — can now be achieved through more straightforward means.

"It strikes me as a very well-organized, very well-thought-out and very out-of date approach," said Olga Oliker, a policy analyst for the RAND Corporation. "I would lay money on bureaucratic inertia. It's something that might have made sense in a previous period."

Maj Gen Yuri Drozdov, who ran the illegals program for more than a decade while he was in the KGB, called his recruits "wunderkinds", people who often spoke three or four languages with native fluency.

Throughout the Soviet era, such agents were rewarded with adulation. Illegals like Rudolf Abel and Konon Molody became such national heroes that the External Intelligence Service, or SVR, still posts their biographies on its website.

NEW YORK: In the biggest spy swap since the Cold War, 10 Russian agents who infiltrated suburban America were deported Thursday in exchange for four people convicted of betraying Moscow to the West.

The spies left New York for Moscow hours after pleading guilty to conspiracy in a Manhattan courtroom and being sentenced to time served and ordered out of the country, said a law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak on the record.

The spy swap carries significant consequences for efforts between Washington and Moscow to repair ties chilled by a deepening atmosphere of suspicion.

The US defendants were captured last week in homes across the Northeast. They were accused of embedding themselves in ordinary American life while leading double lives complete with false passports, secret code words, fake names, invisible ink and encrypted radio.

One spy worked for an accounting firm, another was a real-estate agent, another a columnist for a Spanish-language newspaper.

Attorney General Eric Holder said the ``extraordinary'' case took years of work, ``and the agreement we reached today provides a successful resolution for the United States and its interests.'' White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said on PBS' ``NewsHour'' that President Barack Obama was aware of the investigation, the decision to go forward with the arrests and the spy swap with Russia.

Whether the agents provided Russia with valuable secret information is questionable.

``None of the people involved from my understanding provided any information that couldn't be obtained on the Internet,'' defendant Anna Chapman's attorney, Robert Baum, told The Associated Press.

In Russia, the Kremlin said President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree pardoning four convicted foreign spies so that they can be exchanged for the 10 US defendants.

The Kremlin statement carried by the Russian news agencies says that Medvedev has pardoned Russian citizens Alexander Zaporozhsky, Gennady Vasilenko, Sergei Skripal and Igor Sutyagin.

Sutyagin, an arms analyst, was reportedly plucked from a Moscow prison and put on a plane to Vienna. Skripal is a former colonel in the Russian military intelligence, and Zaporozhsky is a former colonel in the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement saying that the exchange being conducted by Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service and the CIA was conducted in the context of ``overall improvement of the US-Russian ties and giving them new dynamics.''

An Obama administration official said the quick and pragmatic arrangement of the spy swap with Russia speaks to the progress that has been made in US-Russian relations.

The senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the deal, said that by shutting down the spy operation, the U.S. sent a warning to other governments that might be interested in undertaking similar spy operations.

The US Department of Justice said in a letter Thursday that some of the four prisoners are in poor health and had served lengthy prison terms. Three of the four were accused by Russia of contacting Western intelligence agencies while they were working for the Russian or Soviet government, the letter stated.

The 10 suburban spies pleaded guilty to conspiracy to act as an unregistered agent of a foreign country and were ordered deported. An 11th defendant has been a fugitive since fleeing authorities in Cyprus following his release on bail.

One defendant's attorney said a private plane had been expected to take the 10 to Russia. The attorney, John Rodriguez, said his client, Vicky Pelaez, had been given only 24 hours to say yes or no to the ``all or nothing'' deal for deportation.

The defendants — led into court in handcuffs, some in prison smocks and some wearing T-shirts and jeans, provided almost no information about what kind of spying they actually did for Russia. Asked to describe their crimes, each acknowledged having worked for Russia secretly, sometimes under an assumed identity, without registering as a foreign agent.

One, Andrey Bezrukov, smiled and waved to a supporter in the audience and had an animated conversation with another, Elena Vavilova. Vladimir and Lydia Guryev, who lived in the United States as a couple under the aliases Richard and Cynthia Murphy, sat side-by-side but didn't speak.

Pelaez's two sons were among the children of the accused spies in court. A lawyer for her husband said the children would have the option of going to Russia with their parents or staying in the US.

Chapman — whose sultry photos gleaned from social-networking sites made her a tabloid sensation — pulled back her mane of red hair as she glanced around the courtroom. A burly deputy US marshal hovered behind her.

All the defendants stood and raised their right hands in unison to be sworn in before answering a series of questions from the judge, beginning with a request to state their true identities. Their answers were short and scripted, their 10 guilty pleas given one by one in assembly-line precision.

Chapman looked baffled when the judge asked if her secret laptop exchanges with a Russian official ``were in furtherance of the conspiracy.'' She finally looked at her lawyer, shrugged and replied, ``Yes.'' Asked by the judge if she realized at the time that her actions were criminal, she said, ``Yes I did, your honor.''

Assistant US Attorney Michael Farbiarz said Russian officials had visited with the defendants numerous times in prison, and he sought assurances that none of the pleas resulted from inducements that might have been offered by Russian authorities.

Rodriguez, the attorney, said in court that the Russian government had promised Pelaez $2,000 a month for life, housing and documents to allow her children to visit Russia and have all their expenses paid. She decided to go home to her native Peru instead.

Peru's foreign minister, Jose Antonio Garcia, said that Pelaez had committed no crime in her homeland and would be ``received like any other Peruvian citizen.''

Vladimir Guryev acknowledged that from the mid-1990s to the present day, he lived in the US under an assumed name and took directions from the Russian Federation.

Asked whether he knew his actions were a crime, he said: ``I knew they were illegal, yes, your honor.'' Sutyagin, a Russian arms control analyst serving a 14-year sentence for spying for the U.S., was reportedly taken from a Moscow prison and flown to Vienna earlier Thursday.

Sutyagin had told his relatives he was going to be among spies in Russia who would be freed in exchange for 11 people charged in the United States with being Russian agents. They said he was going to be sent to Vienna, then London.

In Moscow, his lawyer, Anna Stavitskaya, said a journalist called Sutyagin's family to inform them that he was seen walking off a plane in Vienna on Thursday. However, she said she could not confirm that claim with Russian authorities.

In New York, US Attorney Preet Bharara said that the investigation was aimed at uncovering and deterring espionage and was ``not undertaken for the purpose of having a bargaining chip.''

He predicted the Russian government ``is unlikely to engage in this methodology in the future and that's a good thing. ... The case sends a message to every other agency that if you come to America and spy on Americans in America you will be exposed.''

Despite the benefits given to at least one of the Russian agents freed by the United States, they are unlikely to be greeted as heroes in Russia, as the Kremlin will likely try to quickly turn the page over the embarrassing incident and avoid further damage in relations with Washington.

Independent newspapers and liberal commentators in Russia have chafed at the obvious lack of results of the spy ring work and ridiculed the low level of their training.

Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Pete Yost, Calvin Woodward and Matt Lee in Washington; David B. Caruso in New York; Denise Lavoie in Boston; David Nowak, Misha Japaridze, Vladimir Isachenkov, Jim Heintz and Khristina Narizhnaya in Moscow; Matt Barakat in Alexandria, Virginia; Jim Fitzgerald in White Plains, New York; Carla Salazar in Lima, Peru, and David Stringer in London.

CAPE TOWN: Playmaker Wesley Sneijder inspired Netherlands to a 3-2 victory over battling Uruguay on Tuesday that sent them back to the World Cup final after a 32-year wait where they will play in an all-European clash.
Sneijder, scorer of both goals in the 2-1 quarter-final win over Brazil, was on target in the 70th minute to put the Dutch 2-1 ahead before Arjen Robben got a third three minutes later.

Maximiliano Pereira grabbed a second goal for Uruguay in added time but despite a late spell of pressure from the South Americans it was too late to stop the Dutch marching on.

Netherlands progress to their third World Cup final with the win setting up a showdown with either Spain or Germany.

"First final since '74 and '78, that came up in my mind in the second half," said Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk. "It's so very special and as a small country we can be so proud."

"After the second and third we should have scored a fourth. That would have prevented that final phase. But this is a World Cup. It doesn't matter how you do it it's all about the result."

Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez told a news conference: "I'm very proud of my players... our opponents were better when it came to scoring goals against us. We went very far, no one expected that, so that helps the sadness of the defeat."

Midfielder Egidio Arevalo added: "We had a good World Cup. A lot of years have passed since we've done so well."

Uruguay last reached the World Cup semifinal in 1970.

The first half at Green Point Stadium ended 1-1 after superb long-range strikes from left back Giovanni van Bronckhorst for Netherlands and forward Diego Forlan for the Uruguayans.

EARLY CHANCE

Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera handed the Dutch an early chance when he failed to hold Robben's cross and the ball fell to Dirk Kuyt but he fired over the bar.

Robben had a shot blocked by his own player before Van Bronckhorst put the Dutch ahead in the 18th minute with a powerful, rising shot which went in off the far post.

The goal sparked the Uruguayans -- missing striker Luis Suarez through suspension and captain Diego Lugano through injury -- into life and they began to attack with more purpose.

They levelled four minutes before halftime when Forlan collected a pass, cut inside his marker and scored with a long-range shot that caught goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg wrongfooted although he did get a touch.

The Dutch had more possession after the break but it was Uruguay who created the better openings.

Alvaro Pereira's chip was headed off the line by Van Bronckhorst and Forlan's curling free kick forced Stekelenburg to turn the ball away at the foot of his near post.

Robben then wasted a golden chance for the Dutch when he fired wide when a rebound landed on his weaker right foot.

But Sneijder put the Dutch back in front with a shot through a forest of legs for his fifth goal of the tournament to become joint top scorer with Spain's David Villa.

Three minutes later, Robben scored with a perfectly placed downward header after Kuyt's cross from the left and although Uruguay got a second goal through Pereira the Dutch triumphed.

European champions Spain play Germany in Durban in the other semifinal on Wednesday with the winners playing Netherlands in Sunday's World Cup final at Soccer City in Johannesburg.

It will be Europe's 10th World Cup win in 19 finals but the first by a European side outside their own continent.

The Dutch lost both their previous finals in 1974 and 1978 to hosts West Germany and Argentina respectively.

Brazil and Argentina are the only teams to have won the trophy on a foreign continent with Brazil successful in Sweden in 1958, Mexico 1970, the United States in 1994 and Japan in 2002, while Argentina won in Mexico in 1986.

A European victory in Sunday's final at Soccer City, Johannesburg, means they will have 10 World Cup successes, one more than South America.

NEW DELHI: A whistleblower's life has turned into a nightmare. Not just him, his family and another young man who protested against his persecution are being hounded by the Punjab Police on the basis of a complaint filed by Jay Polychem -- a politically influential company against whom the whistleblower, Samdeep Mohan Varghese, complained citing instances of money laundering, circular trading in diamonds and other financial irregularities.

In November 2009, Varghese -- himself an employee of Jay Polychem -- reported the alleged illegal activities of the Delhi-based company to the authorities in India and Singapore. Ever since, he has moved to Singapore, fearing that he will face arrest, and worse, if he were to return.

His elderly mother, Mariamma Mathew, has also been in hiding in fear of the Punjab Police which arrived in Kochi to arrest her. And an ex-associate of Varghese -- an HIV patient, Rajesh (name changed) was picked up from Mumbai, taken to Rajpura in Punjab, and allegedly tortured.

The Punjab Police's hyper-activity is on account of a complaint filed by a director of the Delhi-based company in Rajpura accusing Varghese and others of registering a website, www.jaypolychem, and putting up defamatory information about the company. This was on November 30, 2009, nine days after the domain name was booked, and soon after Varghese complained to the authorities about the company.

On February 5, 2010, the Rajpura police filed an FIR against Varghese on the basis of Jay Polychem's complaint. Soon, it reached Kochi, forcing Varghese's mother to go to the court seeking anticipatory bail. On June 11, the Kerala High Court granted her plea while dismissing the FIR as containing "only general and vague allegations."

This, however, has not dampened Punjab Police's enthusiasm. Nor has the fact that Jay Polychem itself is being investigated by central agencies, including the I-T department, DRI and Enforcement Directorate, for financial frauds such as money laundering. The agencies have been asked by the Delhi High Court to report back on the probe.

The Rajpura police also reached Mumbai to track down Varghese's associate, Rajesh. Early on February 14, a posse of policemen picked him up and took him to Rajpura. Rajesh told TOI: "They beat me with belts and tortured me. They wanted me to admit to things that I didn't understand. They kept asking me about Samdeep (Varghese)." According to Rajesh, during the torture sessions Sandeep Madhok, one of the promoters of Jay Polychem, was also present.

Varghese spoke to TOI from Singapore to narrate a story of the gray world of diamonds, circular trading and money laundering -- how the company was moving diamonds around, fictitiously showing value addition at each stage, to pump in crores of rupees of dodgy money into the banking system.

Varghese also claimed that Jay Polychem was close to a top Punjab political family. This is why the Punjab Police has become so active, he said. "All this torture and harassment of innocent people is only to get their hands on me and take me to Punjab," he said.

On June 17, TOI met Jay Polychem promoter Sandeep Madhok at his well-appointed office in Delhi's Defence Colony. Madhok rejected all the charges, accusing those named in the FIR of conspiring to destroy his company. When asked for the specifics of the conspiracy, he didn't give any. He promised to send a written statement which he hasn't till date, despite repeated reminders.

Asked why the complaint against Varghese was lodged in Rajpura and not in Delhi, where the company is based, Madhok said the offending website was noticed by one of the directors of the company while on a business trip to Rajpura. That is why the case was registered in Rajpura, he said.

Madhok also denied that officers of Punjab Police have been traveling around the country on his company's expense. When TOI drew his attention to documents that show the travel agency used by Jay Polychem, the Green Park-based Nickair Inc, had arranged the stay of Punjab Police DSP Manmohan Sharma at Gateway Hotel in Kochi and his travel there, Madhok simply waved off the suggestion.

Parallel to Varghese's story is that of another young man, Amardeep Singh, who too worked for Jay Polychem. In November 2009, he was asked to sign some papers, which he did without proper verification. These papers were made into a civil suit against Varghese and then an FIR against him. "Once I learnt of the false complaints filed against Samdeep in my name, I decided to resign from the company and started looking for a job," says Amardeep.

In January, Sandeep Madhok and his brother Satinder summoned Amardeep to their office in Defence Colony. "They beat me up with leather belts. They kept abusing me for telling Samdeep about the (company's) complaint against him and for being in touch with him," Singh said. "They took away my iPhone and another mobile handset."
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