Rahul Mahajan's hospitalisation has disrupted the BJP's plans to initiate him into the party with a "major responsibility". "Rahulji was tipped to be the all-India vice-president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (the BJP's youth wing). But the appointment will have to be put on hold in view of his fragile health," said a Mumbai BJYM functionary on Friday. The BJYM's city wing had planned a "grand welcome" for Rahul on his return to Mumbai on Sunday. "We had asked our grassroot workers to be at the Santacruz airport to greet him. But now we are more concerned about his health," he added. Rahul Mahajan's initiation into politics was decided by the party leadership after Pramod Mahajan's death. The junior Mahajan was sounded out when he attended, as special invitee, the national executive conclave of the BJP in New Delhi early this week, party leaders said. "BJP president Rajnath Singh tipped him off about the new appointment. Rahul said he would love to work for the party in any capacity," said a state BJP leader. His father, too, graduated to national politics in the 1980s from BJYM. "There is some kind of conspiracy behind this. The party should ask the Union government to make a thorough inquiry into the incident and go to the bottom of the case," said a senior party functionary. "I was shaken to my bones when I saw the news-clip on TV channels in the morning," senior BJP activist Niranjan Shetty said. "Moitraji was a source of strength for Mumbai's partymen. He always came up with new ideas to keep the party going," noted Shetty, adding: "I joined the BJP's youth wing in the 1990s because of him." BJYM president Sanjay Upadhyay said: "I think our party is passing through a bad patch. Close on the heels of Pramodji's sudden demise comes Moitrada's demise and Rahulji's condition is said to be critical. This is the party's hour of test."

The three terrorists killed while attempting to attack the RSS headquarters here on Thursday have been identified as Pakistanis, CID sources said on Friday. They were identified as Afzal Ahmad Butt, Abu al Kalam Alad, both from Lahore, and Mohammad Usman Habib from Gujranwala, a CID official said. Their identity was established from diaries seized from them. But their links with militant organisations are yet to be ascertained, said the official. Police, meanwhile, said the hand-grenades recovered from the terrorists were identical to those used in the Parliament attack by Lashkar-e-Taiba militants. "Police have recovered 12 unused hand-grenades and one whose pin was not properly opened but was thrown from the encounter site. These are of 'Agres' make of an Austrian company," commissioner of police S P S Yadav told reporters. The Austrian firm has given manufacturing licence to some countries, including Pakistan, he added. Meanwhile, awards continue to pour in for the Nagpur policemen for foiling the attack. After Gujarat CM Narendra Modi announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh, his Madhya Pradesh counterpart, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, declared another Rs 10 lakh reward for them. The reward has been sanctioned by Chauhan from his discretionary fund. The draft, drawn up for this amount is being sent to the Nagpur police commissioner, said sources.

Controversial UP politician Raghuraj Pratap Sigh alias Raja Bhaiya was acquitted of all charges on Friday by a specially designated Pota court, even as his father was sentenced to five years of simple imprisonment. In a packed court at 5.20 pm, special designated Pota judge R C Mishra pronounced that there was no credible evidence to prove that Raja Bhaiya and his cousin Akshaya Pratap Singh possessed illegal weapons. But the court sentenced Raja Bhaiya's father Udai Pratap Singh to five years of jail and a fine of Rs 25,000. Mishra gave his order despite several requests by Sushil Kumar, counsel for the accused, for commutation of imprisonment handed down to Udai Pratap Singh to at least two years. The counsel based his arguments on the grounds of age and ill health of the accused, but the court held him guilty for possessing illegal weapons. The court began hearing the case on November 23 last year, after the case was transferred from UP, under the direction of the SC on November 10. The apex court transferred the case to MP for fair trial, as it felt justice wouldn't be done in UP, as the accused could influence the hearing.

Barely a month after the death of BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, tragedy struck the family again on Friday. While his secretary and Man Friday Vivek Moitra died, his son Rahul is fighting for life in Apollo Hospital after what sources called a suspected drug overdose. According to the police, they consumed heroin brought to the 7, Safdarjung Road bungalow allotted to Pramod Mahajan by four visitors in their 20s who had been approached by Moitra, a regular drug user. Sources asserted he knew dealers in the city. Three of the visitors, Rahul, Tishay and Karan, turned themselves in at the Mandir Marg police station, while the fourth, Sahil, was still evading the police. Their lawyer, Ranvir Singh Kundu, confirmed his clients' presence at Mahajan's house, and that Sahil, who knew Moitra, procured drugs for the two. He said his clients did not know Rahul and Moitra and went along with Sahil when he promised to introduce them to a "very prominent" politician.

The Maharashtra government on Friday announced a reward of Rs.1 million for Napgpur Police for successfully thwarting the terrorist attack on the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on Thursday. Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil made the announcement to the media here even as reports said similar announcements were made by the Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh governments. The police shot dead three heavily armed suspected militants of terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), when they tried to enter the RSS headquarters in Nagpur. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi reportedly complimented the police officers for bravely dealing with the terrorists. Meanwhile the police are trying to probe the involvement of LeT's involvement in the incident. Officials of the Mumbai Police's Anti Terrorism Squad have begun assisting the Nagpur Police in the investigations. Nearby villages are being searched to trace local supporters of the militants and the owner of the car used in the attack. The Aurangabad licence plate on the car was a fake one. Police found three names in a diary carried by the gunmen. The arms and ammunition carried by the militants are reportedly similar to those recovered in Malegaon near Nashik last month from fleeing terrorists.