Briefly nation

Pirates hijack vessel,11 Indians hostage

NEW DELHI: Striking once again,Somali pirates have hijacked a UAE-based cargo vessel taking hostage its 26 crew,including 11 Indians. We have received information that a cargo ship M V Rak Afrikana with 26 crew members including 10 Tanzanians,5 Pakistanis and 11 Indians has been hijacked near Seychelles enroute to Zanzibar on 11th April, a senior official said. Sources last week said the government was keeping a close watch on the developments through the Indian missions in Seychelles and Nairobi.

Angioplasty on Manohar Joshi

Mumbai: Former Lok Sabha Speaker and Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Manohar Joshi underwent angiography and angioplasty at the suburban Lilavati Hospital on Monday. Hospital officials said the angioplasty was successful. He is doing well, said the hospital spokesperson.

Bar,restaurant gutted in Bangalore

Bangalore: A bar and a restaurant on the terrace of a three-storey commercial building was gutted in a fire in the Residency Road here on Monday. No casualty was reported. Fifteen fire tenders doused the flames within 30 minutes,Fire department sources said. According to initital reports,the fire lit for performing a religious ritual might have caused the incident. Officials are investigating the cause of the fire. They said the bar and restaurant,built atop the Golden Towers,was an unauthorised construction and the building had no fire safety equipment neither had obtained clearance from the Fire department. A case would be lodged against the building owner,they added.

Nano fire: Man seeks Rs 15 lakh from Tata

MUMBAI: Almost three weeks after his Nano was gutted,Satish Sawant has sent a legal notice to Tata Motors seeking Rs 15 lakh as compensation within 15 days,failing which he will approach a consumer court. I am asking for money for the mental trauma caused to my family. Had we not vacated the vehicle in time,I and my family could have been in deep trouble, Sawant said. This is not an accident case but a manufacturing defect on part of the Tata Motors. I want to teach the company a lesson as it is not even responding to my queries.

Nalini moves HC over premature release

Chennai: Nalini,serving life term in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case,on Monday moved the Madras High Court challenging the Tamil Nadu governments recent decision rejecting her request for premature release. In a petition seeking quashing of the March 24 government order,44-year old Nalini said the Prison Advisory Board instead of considering the object of premature release had gone into the nature of crime committed by a life convict. Nalinis petition comes a week after the High Court dismissed her plea seeking premature release under the general amnesty scheme after the government turned down her request.

Oz police denies foul play in Indians death

Melbourne: The Australian police,probing an Indians death in Sydney,has said it does not suspect any foul play and is awaiting the bodys autopsy report. The body of Dharmendra Singh from Punjab was found in Sydney early on Sunday. According to sources,Singh who had drinks with friends on Saturday night,was found dead near his friends house. A police spokesman said the death did not appear suspicious. ENS amp; PTI