Deal Or No Deal: Customs Chief Wijeweera In A Rs.100 Million Defraud Deal?

September 2, 2013

Customs Officers Unions and the law-abiding motor vehicle importers strongly suspect a serious wrongdoing concerning the immediate suspension of a massive revenue fraud inquiry of over a billion rupees initiated by the Deputy Director of Customs, Athula Lankadeva, Colombo Telegraph learns.

DGC Jagath Wijeweera

Some insiders believe that the head of the investigating team has been bought over by those involved in this massive fraud, with a payment of a huge bribe. Meanwhile, some others suspect that the investigation into the fraud was stopped not as a result the bribe to an investigating team but as a direct intervention of the person holding the office of the Director General of Customs, Jagath P Wijeweera.

Colombo Telegraph’s undercover investigation has resulted in startling revelations, which we can now reveal for the benefit of the readers.

According the team responsible for the investigation into the fraud this inquiry came to a standstill due to an apparent deal entered into between the fraudsters and the DGC Jagath Wijeweera. Certain officers alleged Jagath Wijeweera had entered into a deal 10%  (100 million rupees) of the total revenue defrauded in this organized revenue fraud.

In this case, the investigation carried out so far, the Head of the Team, Lankadeva, has successfully established the following.                Read More

Ready to probe Pilay’s claims

September 1, 2013

The government says it is ready to investigate the allegations raised by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay at a press briefing yesterday, where she had claimed that some people she met had been threatened.

Government spokesman Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella however said that Pillay’s office must provide evidence to prove the allegations in order to investigate it.

Rambukwella told the Colombo Gazette that some groups may attempt to discredit the government by either threatening those who spoke to her or making false claims to that effect.

Pillay told reporters at a media briefing yesterday that she had received reports that people in villages and settlements in the Mullaitivu area were visited by police or military officers both before and after she arrived in Trincomalee last week, several people she met were subsequently questioned about the content of her conversation with them.

“This type of surveillance and harassment appears to be getting worse in Sri Lanka, which is a country where critical voices are quite often attacked or even permanently silenced. Utterly unacceptable at any time, it is particularly extraordinary for such treatment to be meted out during a visit by a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. I wish to stress that the United Nations takes the issue of reprisals against people because they have talked to UN officials as an extremely serious matter, and I will be reporting those that take place in connection with this visit to the Human Rights Council,” she said.

Rambukwella however noted that some groups with vested interests may even try to pass false information to Pillay with an ulterior motive.

He said it was clear from the start there were those who had an agenda to achieve during her visit and so she should not be misled by false allegations.

The Minister noted that Pillay was given the freedom to travel and meet anyone she wanted and that opportunity may have been used by those who wanted to meet her and pass false information.

However he said as a responsible government they will investigate the claims she makes if it is formally communicated with evidence. (Colombo Gazette)

Report by Easwaran Rutnam

Govt. caught in Hurricane Pillay as she ends whirlwind tour

By Our Political Editor
Sunday, September 01, 2013

• Mervyn’s remarks draw angry retort from UN Human Rights chief; President livid over EAM’s mishandling of crucial visit
• UNP presents tough report; wants 19A to nullify 18A; focus now on what happens in Geneva this month

It was Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, the UPFA Government’s point man for many issues who hosted the cocktail reception on Thursday night for a select crowd of politicians, diplomats and officials at the Colombo Hilton.

That was in honour of Navanethem Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. He took it upon himself to protect the honour and integrity of the cabinet of ministers. Surrounded by a few guests, de Silva told Pillay, “Madam, Don’t take our Minister Mervyn Silva’s remarks seriously.” She was quick on the draw and responded, “It is not I who should take it seriously. It is you.” She looked angry and her characteristic smile was absent as she retorted.

Govt. Caught in Hurricane Pillay as She Ends Whirlwind Tour by nelvely

UK reacts to Pillay’s concerns

September 1, 2013

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has reacted to the concerns raised on Sri Lanka by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.

Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt tweeted saying her concerns confirms that it is vital that Sri Lanka meets the declared intentions on reconciliation and human rights.

Speaking to the media in Colombo yesterday Pillay had said that there are a number of specific factors impeding normalization, which – if not quickly rectified – may sow the seeds of future discord.

These are by and large to do with the curtailment or denial of personal freedoms and human rights, or linked to persistent impunity and the failure of rule of law, she said.

Among the issues, she said, she was concerned to hear about the degree to which the military appears to be putting down roots and becoming involved in what should be civilian activities, for instance education, agriculture and even tourism.

“I also heard complaints about the acquisition of private land to build military camps and installations, including a holiday resort. This is only going to make the complex land issues with which the Government has been grappling even more complicated and difficult to resolve. Clearly, the army needs some camps, but the prevalence and level of involvement of soldiers in thecommunityseem much greater than is needed for strictly military or reconstruction purposes four years after the end of the war,” she added.

She said she was also was very concerned to hear about the vulnerability of women and girls, especially in female-headed households, to sexual harassment and abuse.

“I have raised this issue with several ministers, the provincial governors and senior military commanders who attended my meeting with the Secretary of Defence. I challenged them to rigorously enforce a zero tolerance policy for sexual abuse,” she said. (Colombo Gazette)

UN's Navi Pillay attacks Sri Lanka human rights record

Video:

UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay: "A more holistic approach is needed"

31 August 2013

UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay has sharply criticised the government of Sri Lanka, at the end of a week-long visit.

In a statement, Ms Pillay said she feared the country was becoming increasingly authoritarian.

Since the civil war ended four years ago, democracy had been undermined and the rule of law eroded, she added.

Ms Pillay is the most senior UN official to visit the north since Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in 2009.

She arrived in Sri Lanka last Sunday for a fact-finding mission after the government promised her access to former war zones.

She told reporters then that her job was to ensure that the government was conforming to human rights standards agreed by all nations.

Concerns raised

The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva says the statement issued by Ms Pillay's office is astonishingly blunt, and parts of it will not go down well with the Sri Lankan government, which had not been especially keen on her visit in the first place.

Ms Pillay said that she was allowed to go wherever she wanted but that Sri Lankans who came to meet her were harassed and intimidated by security forces.

"This type of surveillance and harassment appears to be getting worse in Sri Lanka, which is a country where critical voices are quite often attacked or even permanently silenced," the statement said.

"Utterly unacceptable at any time, it is particularly extraordinary for such treatment to be meted out during a visit by a UN high commissioner for human rights."

Ms Pillay added that she would be reporting such incidents to the Human Rights Council.

In addition, she said she was concerned at recent attacks on religious minorities and at what she felt were government attempts to downplay them.

When she visited the northern city of Jaffna she met Tamil families who complained to her about missing relatives, military land grabs and life without basic facilities.

After Ms Pillay met the TNA, Sri Lanka's biggest Tamil party, one MP, MA Sumanthiran, told BBC Sinhala's Azzam Ameen they had raised concerns that "people who had met her in the north and east are now being harassed by military intelligence".

One Catholic priest told BBC Tamil that he had been questioned by unidentified men, which he felt was tantamount to "intimidation".

Ms Pillay told the BBC that she had raised the alleged harassment with the government, and said that she would "keep the focus" on what happened to the people she had met.

The government has vehemently rejected accusations that it had intimidated people or scaled down its military presence before she arrived, saying officials allowed her "to meet any one she wanted to" during her visit and that they had "nothing to hide".

Boycott call

Sri Lanka's army defeated separatist Tamil rebels after a brutal 26-year war in 2009. It is the final phase of that war which has come under scrutiny as well as the government's rights record since then.

Ms Pillay's visit comes after a second UN resolution in March urged Colombo to properly investigate killings and disappearances during the war, especially in its final stages.

The government has criticised the UN over the resolutions and insisted it did not massacre civilians.

Canada has called for a boycott of a Commonwealth summit scheduled to take place in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo in November.

The entire conflict left at least 100,000 people dead, but there are still no confirmed figures for tens of thousands of civilian deaths in the last months of battle: estimates range from 9,000 - 75,000.

One UN investigation said it was possible up to 40,000 people had been killed in that time. The government puts the figure at 9,000.

UNP champions 17A during Pillay talks

Raises Weliweriya, religious freedom issues n Talks internet censorship and press freedom n Heavy security for Ranil-Pillay pow-wow

By Dharisha Bastians-August 31, 2013 
The country’s main Opposition party yesterday called for the re-enactment of the historic 17th Amendment to the Constitution, and pointed to the de-politicisation legislation as a clear way out of the current governance and rule of law quagmire facing Sri Lanka during a meeting with a visiting UN Envoy.
Discussions between UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay and the main Opposition last afternoon had focused essentially on post-war erosion of democracy, party officials said.
The United National Party told the visiting UN High Commissioner that a draft bill to re-enact 17A was ready and could be passed in Parliament as an urgent bill since it would be certain of obtaining the necessary support.

In its first passage into legislation, the 17th Amendment, which provides for the setting up of independent commissions to oversee appointments to the police, Judiciary and public service, and an elections commission to oversee national polls, was passed by a historic 223 votes in 2003.
“We spoke a lot about the freedom of the press,” Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said after an hour-long discussion with the UN Envoy at his Fifth Lane residence.
The UNP delegation had raised recent incidents of attacks on the independent media, including the attack on the residence of a senior Sunday Leader journalist and the blockade on the website Colombo Telegraph, during the meeting with Pillay. The UN High Commissioner is reported to have taken note of the issue, party officials revealed.
Other UNP officials said the discussions had focused on the deterioration of democratic values, the breakdown of the rule of law and the increase in religious intolerance. The violence in Weliweriya also came up in the discussions, party sources said.
Addressing the media following their talks with the UN High Commissioner, former UNP Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya said the party had emphasised the need to re-establish democracy after the defeat of the LTTE. “As the party that ushered independence to Sri Lanka, the UNP has every right to speak of the current democratic crisis in the country,” Jayasuriya said.
UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake, who also sat in on the meeting with Pillay, said the UNP delegation had explained that the religious freedom issue was a creation of chauvinistic political forces. “We explained how it is later explained away as religious fundamentalism, but in reality, it’s political,” Karunanayake told Daily FT.
A heavy police presence was visible on Thurstan Road during the Pillay-Ranil pow-wow yesterday. The UNP delegation also included MPs Wijedasa Rajapaksa and Mangala Samaraweera, Provincial Councillor Srinath Perera and Party General Secretary Tissa Attanayake.

Lanka heading towards authoritarianism

By Ranga Jayasuriya-Sunday, 01 Sep 2013

Navanethem Pillay, the UN Human Rights Commissioner, in what appeared to be a climb down from her previously stated position, where she had frequently called for an international investigation into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, said yesterday that a credible local investigation is possible, but warned that Sri Lanka is becoming increasingly authoritarian. "I noticed that the recent commission appointed by the President has highly respectable commissioners sitting in it. It is possible to appoint persons on whom the community has trust," she said when asked by Ceylon Today whether she believes that the government is in a position to conduct an independent impartial investigation, given its manifest tilt towards authoritarianism, which the High Commissioner herself referred to in her opening remarks delivered at the press conference held at the end of her week-long official tour in the island.

"I am deeply concerned that Sri Lanka, despite the opportunity provided by the end of the war to construct a new vibrant, all-embracing State, is showing signs of heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction," she said in her opening statement, which was a blunt critique of the government's human rights record.

She warned that in the absence of a comprehensive local process to hold into account the perpetrators of war crime, local and international calls for an international investigation would continue.

She said, the people of Mullativu whom she met, had been visited by the police prior to and after their meetings with the UN High Commissioner. Several people she met in Trincomalee had subsequently been questioned by the police after their meeting with Pillay. Several others, including two priests, journalists and human rights defenders had been intimidated.

"This type of surveillance and harassment appears to be getting worse in Sri Lanka, which is a country where critical voices are quite often attacked or even permanently silenced. Utterly unacceptable at any time, it is particularly extraordinary for such treatment to be meted out during a visit by a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights," she said.

She added the United Nations takes the issue of reprisals against people because they have talked to UN officials as an extremely serious matter, and 'I will be reporting those that take place in connection with this visit to the Human Rights Council.'

She noted that white van abductions reported in the South in recent times had been omitted from the scope of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry.

She added she was surprised the government was downplaying the recent surge on incitement of hatred and violence against religious minorities, including attacks on churches and mosques. She added that the government's response had been that those were isolated incidents, though evidence to the contrary is 'pouring' into her office.

She noted that freedom of expression was under a sustained assault in Sri Lanka, pointing out the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of violence.

"More than 30 journalists are believed to have been killed since 2005, and several more – including the cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda – have disappeared. Many others have fled the country. Newspaper and TV offices have been vandalized or subjected to arson attacks – some, such as the Jaffna-based paper, Uthayan, on multiple occasions. With self-censorship fuelled by fear, journalists report that there are articles that they dare not write, and others, their editors dare not print," she pointed out.

She said she had called for the Right to Information Act to be adopted, similar to it being adopted in many of Sri Lanka's neighbouring in countries in the region.

UN Human Rights Chief Criticisms of Sri Lanka Abuses Directed at Regime Rather than State Structure - ATC

 Sunday, 01 September 2013 10:55

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navi Pillay’s statement delivered yesterday in Colombo after a week’s visit to assess the human rights situation in Sri Lanka contained some strong criticisms of the Rajapaksa regime.

The Sri Lankan government had denied Ms Pillay entry into the island till now, despite mounting evidence of allegations surrounding complicity in war crimes.

Ms Pillay acknowledged that although the fighting was over, the suffering was not, and highlighted many human rights abuses and violations taking place in the island, including that of militarisation, sexual abuse and the issue of disappeared persons. She further warned that unless there was to be a credible national process, calls for an international inquiry were likely to continue. Her other suggestions included the repealing of the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act. She also highlighted the harassment, intimidation and military surveillance of those wishing to meet with her with critical voices often attacked or even permanently silenced.

Ms Pillay's statement did include a few positive comments including reconstruction achievements, though she was quick to point out that "physical reconstruction alone will not bring reconciliation, dignity, or lasting peace" and a more "holistic approach is needed to provide truth, justice and reparations".

“While her statement did contain some strong criticisms, they were directed at the regime rather than the Sri Lankan state structure," said Dr Sam Pari, Spokesperson of the Australian Tamil Congress. "The grave violations taking place against the Tamil people are not isolated incidents, but rather fit the agenda of the Sri Lankan state which is intent on erasing the identity and existence of the Tamil nation in the island of Sri Lanka. An alternate regime will be meaningless unless the structural genocide is ceased. We hope that her statement later this month to the UN Human Rights Council will include and address these genuine grievances of the Tamil people who trusted her and despite knowing they were under military intelligence surveillance, risked their lives to share with her their plight and suffering," added Dr Pari.

Sri Lanka ready to probe Pillay’s claims

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay listens to ethnic Tamil war survivors during her visit to Mullivaikkal, Sri Lanka, on Tuesday.

September 1, 2013

Sri Lanka on Sunday said it was ready to probe the allegations raised by U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay that some people she met during her mission to probe alleged war crimes committed during the ethnic conflict with the Tamil Tigers had been threatened.

Ms. Pillay’s office must provide evidence to prove the allegations in order to investigate it, said government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella.

Mr. Rambukwella, also the Minister of Information, told the Colombo Gazette that some groups may attempt to discredit the government by either threatening those who spoke to her or making false claims to that effect.

The minister also said the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights was given the freedom to travel and meet anyone she wanted and that opportunity may have been used by those who wanted to meet her and pass false information.

Ms. Pillay on Saturday said she had received reports that people in villages and settlements in the Mullaitivu area were visited by police or military officers both before and after she arrived in Trincomalee last week, several people she met were subsequently questioned about the content of her conversation with them.

Meanwhile, the government downplayed any negative impact from the visit of Ms. Pillay.

Ms. Pillay on Saturday said unless Sri Lanka puts in place a credible investigation into alleged high number of disappearances and murders during the armed conflict “calls for an international inquiry are likely to continue.”

Mr. Rambukwella said Sri Lanka as a sovereign state was within its right to decide on issues. “We have implemented most of the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. So we have nothing to hide.”

Champika Ranawaka, the Minister of Research who is from the nationalist Heritage Party (JHU), said Sri Lanka shouldn’t fear any international adverse action due to a report at the UN rights body by Ms. Pillay later this month.

“There is nothing that so called powers can do. The US is indebted to China so no longer they are powerful to do us anything,” Mr. Ranawaka said.

Ms. Pillay said she would be orally reporting to the UNHRC and in the process warned that Sri Lanka was “heading in an increasing authoritarian direction”. She said despite the end to the armed conflict four years ago the democracy has been undermined and the rule of law eroded.

Criticising Ms. Pillay, Youth Affairs Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said, “The war (with the LTTE) lasted over 7500 days. She came for a 5 day visit to assess everything.”

Sri Lanka ran a campaign of public castigation of the UN Rights Chief for her Tamil affinity albeit of South African origin.

She was accused of favouring the LTTE and working to target Sri Lanka on the dictates of the pro-LTTE diaspora.

Beggars an endangered species in Colombo, suburbs for CHOGM

By Nadia Fazlulhaq-Sunday, September 01, 2013

Society’s public ‘eye sore’ disappears into and overcrowds a detention centre, to a fate yet to be determined

Ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo in November, an operation to rid the City of beggars has got under way.  By Friday, 128 beggars who were held at the Colombo Remand Prison, have been moved to the Detention Centre in Ridiyagama, Ambalantota, officials said.

Pix by Nilan Maligaspe

The recent transfer on court orders, of 128 beggars, including 26 females has raised concerns among sociologists.  Prisons Spokesman Gamini Kulathunge said that most of those transferred were from the streets of Colombo.  The Sunday Times learns that one of the beggars had US dollars 1383 in possession. Other valuables include cash and pricey mobile phones.

Head of Sri Jayewardenepura University’s Sociology and Anthropology Dept, Dr. Praneeth Abeysundare said that, as the beggar-community has been neglected and not monitored, criminals, sex workers and drug addicts have blended with the genuine beggars.

“Some beggars make more money than employed persons, which has resulted in those with the ability to work, opting to beg for a living, which should be discouraged,” Dr. Abeysundare said.

Colombo University’s Senior Professor of Sociology, Siri Hettige said that, instead of moving beggars to a detention centre constructed during the 1976 non-aligned summit, the State should ensure proper programmes to rehabilitate them.  “Every time an international event approaches, the country cannot hide its beggars, but must seek a permanent solution. Beggars are supposed to represent the lowest stratum within society, and the issue is not addressed by Samurdhi, the poverty alleviation programme that allocates Rs. 9 billion for the poor, which should be more streamlined,” he said.

Prof Hettige said that there is a need to research more on the present beggars to identify the genuine paupers.  “Universities should be given more research opportunities. Once they are identified, the State should provide with them with occupational training and social housing schemes,” Prof Hettige said.

According to the professor, unlike many countries where the Social Services Ministry plays the main role in the welfare of all citizens, here the corresponding Ministry is hardly considered an important one.  The Ridiyagama Detention Centre, in Ambalantota has 586 inmates with 212 females.

The Detention Centre’s Superintendent Mahinda Wijesinghe said the 128 additional persons has overcrowded the detention centre.
“The buildings are in a dilapidated state. Its present capacity is for 600 inmates. We are doing our utmost to work for their benefit,” he said.

As most of the inmates do not have guardians, the Detention Centre also acts as a shelter for elders as well as the destitute, with medical attention and board managed with the funds allocated by the Southern Provincial Council (PC).  Unfortunately, the Social Services ministry does not concern itself with the issue of beggars.

“The beggars’ issue has to be handled by each PC and not the central government. The central ministry only handles disabled, elders and single parents’ programmes,” said the Social Services Ministry Secretary Emelda Sukumar.  Southern Province’s Social Welfare Ministry’s Secretary Sumith Alahakoon said that, after several requests, the Finance Commission has agreed to allocate Rs 7 million for the refurbishment of the Detention Centre.

Shooting from the hip

Editorial-August 31, 2013, 6:36 pm 

Having failed to rein-in some of its supporters, or possibly having egged them on earlier, the government obviously had no wish to permit any pre-departure ruckus over UN Human Rights Commissioner Navanetham Pillay’s week-long Sri Lanka visit, the longest such mission she had undertaken during her watch in Geneva.

Shooting From the Hip by nelvely

Methods to the madness that is Education in Sri Lanka

Proposals and policies, rules and regulations, guidelines and code of ethics and 5% of GDP to cure a body politic rotten to the core

The Government has unveiled an ambitious set of policies and proposals for general education in the country, which seeks to get more budgetary allocation for the sector, make school education mandatory for children from 5-16, as well as plans to reduce reliance on private tuition.

The report, based on proposals presented to the Special Parliamentary Advisory Committee of Education, was on Wednesday presented to Parliament by Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena.

Methods to the Madness That is Education in Sri Lanka by nelvely

China’s Strategic Presence In Sri Lanka

By R Hariharan -September 1, 2013

Col. (retd) R.Hariharan

The growing presence of the Chinese in Sri Lanka, when India-Sri Lanka relations are under stress, has disturbing strategic connotations for national security.  Chinese actions are closely related to the domestic and external policy dispensations of the new Chinese leadership under Xi Jingping as well as China’s desire to takeover South Asia’s under-exploited markets dominated by India so far.

The 18th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Congress held in November 2012 had envisaged the policy parameters of the new leadership. It said: “Peaceful development is China’s basic state policy, and win-win cooperation is a banner for China’s friendly relations with other countries. To realise ‘China dream’, we must have a peaceful international environment. At the same time, the country will resolutely safeguard its national sovereignty, security, and core interests. The two policies are two pillars of Chinese diplomacy, and do not conflict with each other.”

Echoing the Party guidance, President Xi Jinping speaking at CCP politburo session in January 2013 said that China would remain on a path of peaceful development, yet it would “never give up” legitimate rights or sacrifice ‘core interests’. He cautioned that “no country should presume that we will engage in trade involving our ‘core interests’ or that we will swallow the ‘bitter fruit’ of harming our sovereignty, security or development interests.” China’s loud assertion of its claims in South China Sea bears this out.

In the South Asian context, China’s policy prescription would translate as: vigorously defending the integrity of its borders, pursuing its territorial claims, developing strategic communication lines to the border areas and not losing sight of its economic interests. The PLA’s repeated intrusions along India’s border in Ladakh and enlarging presence in Sri Lanka validate this.

India’s emergence as a rapidly growing economic and military power dominating the Indian Ocean adding to China’s strategic concerns. China has unresolved border dispute and unfulfilled territorial claims with India have continued to simmer. China nurtures deep suspicions about India’s role in sustaining the activities of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama as well as India’s growing strategic relationship with the US and Japan.

Read More

RBI plans to request Tirupati, Shirdi shrines to sell their gold pile to rescue Re fall

(RBI is discussing with banks on how to convince temple trusts to deposit their hoard of idle 

jewellery  that could be converted into bullion.)

Shilpy Sinha, ET Bureau Aug 31, 2013,

MUMBAI: With all efforts to arrest the rupee's slide coming to a naught, policymakers now plan to knock on the doors of temples — from Tirupati to Shirdi — seeking a boon to feed Indians' fetish for gold without importing it.

The Reserve Bank of India, which has been making gold imports more difficult through a series of restrictions, is discussing with banks on how to convince temple trusts to deposit their hoard of idle jewellery that could be converted into bullion, said two bankers familiar with the matter.

They refused to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the issue. The Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh, Shirdi Sai Baba temple in Maharashtra, Siddhivinayak at Mumbai and Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram are among the richest in India with huge reserves of gold and precious metals.

In fact, the roofs of many temples, such as the Nataraja temple in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, and Tirupati are covered with gold. RBI is counting on banks handling the accounts of these temple trusts to convince them to convert their huge gold deposits into cash, the bankers said.

No certainty of any deal

But there is no certainty of any deal with the temple trusts, given the diverse nature of these trusts and the local politics involved. "The idea is that a designated bank may buy gold from a temple trust and the ornaments will be converted into bullion. These may be bought by RBI by selling rupees," said one of the bankers quoted above. RBI did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Gold imports worth $53.6 billion last year are blamed for the rupee's slide, accounting for 61% of the current account deficit in fiscal 2013. Although the government and RBI acknowledged that high inflation provoked investors to chase gold, both have of late been trying to discourage imports of the precious metal. The rupeelost nearly a quarter of its value this year, but has since recovered.

"The finance minister and RBI governor should jointly — and immediately — approach the trustees of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD)," said Jamal Mecklai, chief executive of Mecklai Financial. "Three of these (trustees) are state government appointees, and given the current political dispensation this is a distinct advantage. They should, of course, offer prayers. That will be an opportunity for the hugely rich trusts to make additional amounts of money."

Tirupati is among the world's richest temples with an estimated gold hoard of about 1,000 tonnes, nearly double of India's estimated imports this year. The country, as a whole, is estimated to have a gold stock of 18,000-30,000 tonnes. The temple trusts, however, do not seem inclined towards such a plan, at least for now.

"There are no plans to do such a thing. There have no discussions with RBI," said a spokesman at TTD. Some banks run gold deposit schemes where individuals deposit the yellow metal for 3-7 years.

India convicts youngest Delhi gang rape defendant

By Ashok Sharma, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A group of protesters shout slogans demanding death sentence to a juvenile accused of rape, outside the Juvenile justice board Saturday in New Delhi, India. An Indian juvenile court on Saturday handed down the first conviction in the fatal gang rape of a young woman on a moving New Delhi bus. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

NEW DELHI — An Indian juvenile court on Saturday handed down the first conviction in the fatal gang rape of a young woman on a moving New Delhi bus, convicting a teenager of rape and murder and sentencing him to three years in a reform home, lawyers said. 

The victim's parents denounced the sentence, which was the maximum the defendant faced. The family had long insisted the teen, who was 17 at the time of the December attack and is now 18, be tried as an adult — and thus face the death penalty — insisting he was the most brutal of the woman's attackers. 

''He should be hanged irrespective of whether he is a juvenile or not. He should be punished for what he did to my daughter,'' the victim's mother, Asha Devi, told reporters after the verdict was announced. 

Indian law forbids the publication of the teen's name because he was sentenced in a juvenile court. 

The attack, which left the 23-year-old victim with such extensive internal injuries that she died two weeks later, sparked protests across the country and led to reforms of India's antiquated sexual violence laws. The government, facing immense public pressure, had promised swift justice in the case. 

The convicted teen was one of six people accused of tricking the woman and her male companion into boarding an off-duty bus Dec. 16 after they had seen an afternoon showing of ''Life of Pi'' at an upscale shopping mall. Police say the men raped the woman and used a metal bar to inflict massive internal injuries to her. They also beat her companion. The victims were dumped naked on the roadside, and the woman later died from her injuries in a Singapore hospital. 

The victim's father said the family was deeply disappointed with the sentence. 

''This is completely unacceptable to us,'' Badrinath Singh said. ''We are not satisfied with this outcome. He is virtually being set free. This is very wrong.'' 

''No family should have a daughter if this is the fate that lies ahead for women. In this country, it is crime to be born a girl,'' he said. 

Indian law forbids the publication of the names of rape victims, even if they die. 

S.K. Singh, a lawyer for the victim's family, said they would challenge the juvenile court's verdict in a higher court. 

''We will also seek a review of the man's age by a medical panel, since we believe he was not a juvenile when the incident took place,'' he said. 

In India, especially in rural areas, many people do not have their births properly registered, and school certificates are used as proof of age. 

Singh and the defendant's lawyer, Rajesh Tewari, both confirmed the conviction and sentence. 

Reporters were not allowed inside the courtroom. Scores of television crews lined up on the road outside the court building beginning early Saturday, waiting for the verdict. 

Four of the other defendants are being tried in a special fast-track court in New Delhi and face the death penalty. The sixth accused was found dead in his jail cell in March. The court is expected to hand down the rest of the verdicts in September. 

The convicted defendant was tried as a minor on charges including murder and rape. The time he has spent in a juvenile home since he was arrested in December will count toward his sentence, Tewari said. 

The attack set off furious protests across India about the treatment of women in the country and led to an overhaul of sexual assault laws. 

A government panel set to suggest reforms to sexual assault laws rejected calls to lower the age at which people can be tried as adults from 18 to 16. 

In July, India's top court also refused to reduce the age of a juvenile from 18 to 16 years. However, it later agreed to hear a new petition seeking to take the ''mental and intellectual maturity'' of the defendant into account, and not just age.