Two found guilty in Kozhikode twin blast case!

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PTI / The Hindu / KOCHI, August 11, 2011.

In the first verdict in NIA-investigated terror case in Kerala, a court on Thursday held suspected LeT militant T. Naseer and another man guilty of offences in the March 3, 2006, twin blasts case in Kozhikode.

The CBI Special court here, the designated court hearing National Investigation Agency cases, however, acquitted two other accused. While Abdul Halim got the benefit of doubt, there was no evidence against C. Yusuf, Justice S. Vijay Kumar said.

The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on Friday.

The court held there was sufficient material against Naseer, an accused in 2008 Bangalore blasts case, and Shafas and found them guilty in the Kozhikode blasts in which two policemen and a porter were injured.

NIA had filed the charge sheet in August 2010 against eight men, listing Naseer as prime accused.

The accused had been chargsheeted under various Sections of IPC, including Sect 120B (criminal conspiracy), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), relevant sections of Unlawful Assembly Prevention Act, 1967, and Explosive Substance Act.

Naseer is also named as an accused in the burning of a Tamil Nadu state bus in 2005 at nearby Kalamassery by suspected PDP activists to protest against PDP leader Abdul Nasser Madani’s detention in connection with the 1998 Coimbatore bomb blasts which claimed 58 lives and left over 200 injured.

While one of the accused Fayas was killed in an encounter with security forces in Kashmir, another accused Shammi Firoz was made an approver. Two others who are at large abroad have been declared as wanted.

About 58 prosecution witnesses were examined.

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/article2346970.ece

JEWS IN KERALA: Forum claims existence of Jew Street in Kozhikode

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R. MADHAVAN NAIR / The Hindu / KOZHIKODE, July 8, 2011.

A view of the Jews Street in Kozhikode - Special Arrangement.

Is there a Jew Street in Kozhikode? Yes, says a team of the Calicut Heritage Forum, engaged in studying history of the region. The team has claimed to have found evidence pointing to existence of a Jew Street.

Presence of Chinese and Arabs in Kozhikode centuries ago is known. But not much is known about Jews, leave alone the existence of a Jew Street. Acting on a tip-off from Toufeek Zakariya, a Kochi-based history enthusiast, about the existence of a Jew Street, the forum launched a search.

After nearly one week, the team got information that there does indeed exist a small locality called Jootha Bazar (Jootha is Malayalam for Jew) in the heart of the Thekkepuram region between Kuttichira and Idiyangara. 

There indeed are some indications in some records about the presence of Jews. When the Geniza papers were deciphered, it became known that a Jewish trader, Abraham Yiju, had once purchased spices from Panthalayini-Kollam (Fandaraina) around 1120 AD.

Almost 200 years later, Franciscan Friar Odoric of Pordenone visited Panthalayini and commented about the Jews there and their conflict with the Christians.

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Flourishing market

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Quite an interesting history of Jews and Chinese Traders in the Kerala since nearly 1,000 years!

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/article2208073.ece

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR A CAUSE: Kerala Facebook group shows the way!

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• July 3, 2011 
• By T.P. Nijish 
• DC 
• Kozhikode.

(File photo) A team of youth runs ‘Nammude Kozhikode’ (Our Calicut) group on Facebook to help the poor - (Photo: AFP).

Micro blogging and social networking sites do not just offer a platform for making friends but can also join people together for worthy causes.

A team of youth, who are running a ‘Nammude Kozhikode’ (Our Calicut) group on Facebook, will endorse this opinion wholeheartedly.

The group, which is acting as a virtual agency to help poor and orphans, now has over 11,000 members supporting it, including hundreds who are living abroad.

The group is active in extending help to street children, orphans, deserted women, and aged people. Last week, its members handed over an amount as financial aid to an orphanage under the Sevabarathi in the city.

“We are one of the largest groups in the state, and our initiative could ensure the participation of large number of people,” said Rohit Thayyil, who was the creator of the group.

Full Story at,

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/sci-tech/hitech/kerala-facebook-group-shows-way-338