-Live Mint Govt reiterates it will crack down hard on tax evaders, defends steps introduced in Finance Bill to check evasion The government on Tuesday reiterated its intention to crack down hard on tax evaders and defended some of the stringent provisions introduced in the Finance Bill last week to check evasion, including granting wider powers of arrest to taxmen and making certain offences non-Bailable. Finance minister P. Chidambaram, in his budget speech...

-The Hindu Dantewada (Chhattisgarh): Of the six tribal women of Shamsetti village in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh who in 2009 gave statements in court that they had been gang-raped by Salwa Judum functionaries, three have now withdrawn their charges. Three key witnesses — family members of the women — have also retracted their statements. Some lawyers in Dantewada familiar with the case say that the women are withdrawing due to “severe pressure”...

-Live Mint Evasion of duty of over Rs.50 lakh to be made non-Bailable offence; arrest provisions under service tax proposed The government may find itself in hot water on budget proposals that make duty evasion beyond a certain threshold a non-Bailable offence, allow arrest on suspected withholding of service tax, and provide tax authorities powers to recover dues from a defaulter’s bankers.   Although finance minister P. Chidambaram in his budget presentation on 28...

-The Hindu The influx of 2.5 lakh Muslims after the 2008 constituency delimitationled to insecurity among Hindus in Dhule, claims social activist Almost two months since six people were killed after communal violence in the north Maharashtra district of Dhule, the aggressive-yet-vulnerable countenance of the town has resurfaced. Citizens, both Hindu and Muslim, reveal that behind the volatility is the small town’s neglected struggle for an identity. A small fight at a local...

-Outlook Bangalore: A National Investigation Agency Court today ordered release of a terror suspect, who allegedly conspired to kill prominent politicians and journalists in three states, on 'statutory' Bail since the NIA failed to file chargesheet against him, a lawyer representing him said. "The NIA Court (here) has ordered release of Ejaz Ahmed Mirza, working in DRDO as scientist, on statutory Bail as the NIA failed to file chargesheet against him," Akmal...