Category: NATIONAL NEWS

Authorities today imposed restrictions in parts of Srinagar and Shopian districts to foil the separatists’ plan of holding a rally to protest against the recent civilian killings in alleged Army firing. Separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership, had called for a march to Shopian district to protest against the killing of three civilians in alleged Army firing on stone-pelters there January 27. While Geelani and Mirwaiz were placed under house arrest, Malik reportedly managed to reached…

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The prime accused in the murder of Chandan Gupta in Kasganj was arrested today as the strife-torn western Uttar Pradesh town, which saw communal clashes last week, moved towards normalcy despite tension in some pockets, officials said. The UP government submitted a report on the incidents in Kasganj to the Union Home ministry conveying that the police were probing the violence and whether it was pre-planned, an official said. “Saleem, the main accused, has been nabbed,” IG, Aligarh range, Sanjeev Gupta said. Aged below 30, Saleem, and his two brothers,…

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Ahead of the panchayat election in the state, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will kick-start major state-wide projects for new roads and doubling of existing ones. “In order to strengthen the rural road infrastructure in the state, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will on February 12 at Nadia flag off the construction of 8700 km of rural road projects spread across the state,” said Pradip Kr Mazumdar, the agriculture advisor to the chief minister. “Out the 8700 kms of roads approximately 75 per cent will be new grameen (village) roads…

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Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has claimed that Congress will emerge as winner in bypolls conducted in Ajmer and Alwar Lok Sabha constituencies and Mandalgarh Assembly seat in the state yesterday. Congress will win bypolls conducted on all the three seats, Gehlot said talking to reporters in Kota today. State election department has made arrangements for counting scheduled on February 1 for all the three seats. Information of all rounds of counting will be available on department’s website, a spokesperson said. Bypolls were necessitated in these three seats due…

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Breaking his silence on the communal clashes in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today warned of strict action against the perpetrators of violence and said those indulging in anarchy will not be spared. His remarks came after days of violence in Kasganj where clashes broke out on last Friday in which one person was killed and two others were injured. “Our government is committed to provide security to each and every citizen. Those indulging in anarchy will not be spared,” he told mediapersons here. The chief minister warned…

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The Maharashtra government today informed the Bombay High Court that it would soon take a policy decision on whether women-related offences lodged after December 2009 would fall under the Manodhairya Yojana of 2013 or the new scheme of last year. Under the Manodhairya scheme of October 2013, the victims of acid attacks and rape cases were liable for monetary compensation up to Rs 3 lakh. But, after facing flak from the high court, the state government in December last year came up with a revised scheme under which the monetary…

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President Ram Nath Kovind today called for a “sustained debate” on holding simultaneous polls for the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies, saying all parties need to arrive at a consensus over the issue. In his maiden address to the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament at the beginning of the Budget session here, he said citizens alive to the state of governance in the country were concerned about frequent elections in one part of the country or another, which adversely impacted the economy and development. “Frequent elections…

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As many as 112 people were arrested and security forces personnel intensified vigil in the strife-torn Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh where the situation remained tense but peaceful today, two days after clashes between two communities claimed one life. In the evening, the UP Police said the situation was headed towards normalcy. They also said three drone cameras had been deployed for aerial surveillance. Explosives were found during house-to-house searches following which the state police chief said the stringent National Security Act (NSA) would be invoked against the culprits. The Yogi…

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Four people, including two children, were killed and seven others injured in three separate accidents caused due to dense fog here today, police said. Two brothers, aged 9 and 10, were killed and and six others, including the mother of the children, were injured when a bus collided with their auto near Ading village, under the Goverdhan police station area, amidst dense fog this morning, they added. The deceased were identified as Krishna (9) and Yash (10). Their mother, Ruchi, and other injured were undergoing treatment, police said, adding that…

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As the Congress voiced displeasure over its president Rahul Gandhi being seated in the sixth row at the main Republic Day event in Delhi, senior party leader Salman Khurshid said it was “more an issue of good manners than protocols”. Gandhi attended the Republic Day Parade at Rajpath and took the designated sixth-row seat, along with Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad. “It’s sad if those in power think somebody’s stature is decided by where that person is seated,” Khurshid said. Speaking on the sidelines of…

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