Jindal sees iron-ore exports of 10 million tonnes from Bolivia

New Delhi -- In a new turn to the 1991 high profile BMW hit-and-run case, key witness Sunil Kulkarni told a court here today that he was not sure that he had seen the prime accused Sanjeev Nanda coming out of the car that killed six people.

Backtracking on his earlier testimony where Kulkarni had identified Sanjeev Nanda as the man who got down from the black car after the accident, he said that he could not see the faces of the car occupants clearly and could only make out their physique.

On being questioned as how he had identified Sanjeev as one of the occupants in the car, Kulkarni said he had seen a person like Nanda coming out of the car but he was not sure that it was him.

Sanjeev Nanda, grandson of former Navy Chief S M Nanda, and son of owner of the international arms trading firm Crown Corporation, in an inebriated condition allegedly ran over his BMW into a police checkpoint in the wee hours of January 10, 1999.

Three policemen and three others were killed in the incident that left a trail of body parts over a long stretch of Lodi road.

Nanda was accompanied by Siddharth Gupta, son of head of General Motor Finance, Rajiv Gupta, and Manik Kapoor a leading exporter. Gupta and his father have been charged for destroying evidence as they along with their two servants had cleaned up the blood and flesh parts on the car after the BMW was decked in their house.

Kulkarni was witness to the accident as he was on his way to New Delhi Railway Station to catch a train to Bhopal. (ANI)

Hyderabad, July 19 (ANI): The Hyderabad Court on Thursday denied bail to former actress Monica Bedi in another fake passport case.

On Tuesday, she was acquitted in a similar passport forgery case by Bhopal court because the police did not produce adequate witnesses and evidences against her.

Today, the Hyderabad court refused to grant her bail as she had failed to produce the original passport document to the court.

She has claimed that she had lost the passport in Dubai.

Bedi‘s defence lawyer Pradeep Kumar said that the Supreme Court had granted bail to Bedi with certain conditions.

"One of the conditions was that she shall surrender her passport if she has any," Kumar said.

Kumar further said that the court went through the records and said that since there was a specific clause attached, the bail plea could not be accepted.

"But very soon we will approach the Supreme Court to get a clarification on the order with regard to the passport clause," Kumar added.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered a case against her for possessing a passport from Hyderabad on forged documents in the name of Sana Malik.

The apex court had granted bail to Bedi in this case, after the Andhra Pradesh High Court sentenced her to three years imprisonment. Earlier, the High Court had reduced the five-year jail term awarded to her by the trial court.

Monica had worked in few films before being caught up in the controversy involving her and Mumbai‘s underworld don Abu Salem.

Bedi was extradited from Portugal along with Salem in 2005.

Salem is accused of involvement in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts that killed 257 people, and is currently facing trial over the attacks. Police said the pair fled the c

ountry soon after the blasts. (ANI)

New Delhi, July 19 (ANI): External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee today spoke to Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer over phone and expressed India‘s concern over detention of Dr. Mohammad Haneef, the Indian doctor detained in Brisbane for his suspected role in the foiled London and Glasgow terror plot.

During the call, which was initiated at the request of the Australian side, Mukherjee conveyed Downer that India seeks fair and just treatment of Dr. Haneef under the Australian law.

Both the ministers also agreed for the conclusion of a mutual legal assistance treaty.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had expressed hope that Australia would extend "all the facilities" to Haneef.

Haneef, 27, has been in custody since July 2, but was only charged on July 14, which led to global criticism of his 12-day detention without charge.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs had summoned Australia‘s High Commissioner to India, John McCarthy, and told him that Australia should treat Haneef "fairly and justly under Australian law".

Haneef‘s family in Bangalore insists he is innocent and has no links to the British bomb plot for which his two cousins -- Sabeel Ahmed and Kafeel Ahmed -- are held in Britain. (ANI)

New Delhi, July 19 (ANI): Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. (JSPL) on Thursday said it plans to export 10 million tonnes of iron ore annually from Bolivia‘s El Mutun iron-ore deposit.

JSPL has signed a contract to develop the vast El Mutun deposit by investing 2.1 billion dollars in the South American nation.

"We are planning a 2.1 billion dollar investment in the next five years, which is going to be the largest private investment in Bolivia and also the largest investment from any Indian company in South America," said Naveen Jindal, Managing Director of Jindal Steel.

He said the money would be used to develop mines and build a steel plant.

The deal will give Jindal rights to exploit half the 60-sq-km site for 40 years in a mutually beneficial deal.

"We hope that this project will bring a lot of prosperity to Bolivia... with the kind of experience we have and the resources they have," added Jindal.

The project, which represents the biggest single foreign investment in Bolivian history, involves mining iron ore and making steel at the site in the southeast of the country -- believed to hold one of the world‘s largest iron ore deposits.

Bolivia‘s leftist government named the Indian firm the winner of the bidding to develop El Mutun more than a year ago, but final agreement had been delayed due to prolonged wrangling over the details of the project.

El Mutun, which lies near the Brazilian border, is estimated to contain iron-ore reserves of more than 40 billion tonnes, though they are said to be of medium-grade quality.

Jindal and a state-run company will roughly share the profits generated by the project, which officials have said should guarantee the state an average of at least 200 million dollars per year in taxes and profits.

Bolivia‘s first steel making operation, the El Mutun project is expected to generate some 4,600 jobs and produce 1.5 million tonnes of steel products per year as well as iron concentrates. (ANI)