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Chandigarh : "The State of Punjab is sitting over a list of around 1,600 proclaimed offenders, who are settled abroad in various countries including United States of America, United Kingdom and Canada", said Vikram Bajwa, President, Indian Overseas Congress, while addressing a press conference here today. Bajwa, along with Amarjit Kaur Bhinder, widow of bombed plane Kanishka's co-pilot SS Bhinder and his brother Kamaljit Singh Bhinder, addressed reporters in the wake of the forthcoming three-days Pravasi Divas, to be held in New Delhi from January 7. Bajwa said the Indian Overseas Congress has appealed to the Indian government and to the Government of Punjab as well, to upload the list of 1,600 proclaimed offenders on their websites, so that people who are settled abroad and are either falsely implicated in some cases or have been made POs by mistake, make seek legal remedies. "In absence of such information, what happens is that a NRI comes to India, and is detained at the airport. He receives the shock of his life, when he is told that he is a proclaimed offender in a case registered against him 10 years or 20 years ago. If the list is uploaded, at least the genuine people, who had to undergo such harassment, could seek legal remedies and come back to their motherland", Bajwa added.

In a bid to check smuggling by air passengers of satellite phones, which could be a potential weapon for terrorist activities, the government has made it mandatory for inbound travellers to declare them. A new column has been inserted in the immigration or arrival card. The changes have been implemented following "increasing imports of satellite phones in passenger baggage" without obtaining authorisation, an official communication said. "The CBEC desires that the Commissioners in-charge of International Airports ensure that instructions are complied with and correct forms are used by the arriving passengers," a Central Board of Excise and Customs circular said.

BANGALORE: The Centaur Hotels' website, centaurhotels.com, appears to have compromised personal information of its hotel guests, in what seems to be a case of poor internet security protocols implemented by the site. This allowed website visitors on Saturday to obtain and view details of passports, driving licences, pan numbers, credit cards, and other forms of personal identification provided by its guests. Centaur Hotels, a unit of the Hotel Corporation of India (HCI), is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Aviation Company of India that runs national carrier Air India. It runs a hotel near the Delhi international airport and another in Srinagar.

The Civial Aviation Ministry has set up a committee for assessment of body scanners from the point of view of effectiveness, privacy and health, government said today. Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi told the Lok Sabha that the government has not installed non-intrusive body scanners so far and security agencies are carrying out an assessment of body scanners. "The government has not installed non-intrusive body scanner. However, assessment of the body scanners from security point of view is being carried out by security agencies," he said in a written reply.