Regional

Chandigarh, March 7 (IANS) In an intelligence-based operation, Punjab Police on Thursday said they averted possible target killings with the arrest of two members of Babbar Khalsa International (BKI)-backed terror module.

The module was operated by US-based Harpreet Singh, alias Happy Passian, a close aide of Pakistan-based terrorist Harwinder Singh Rinda, along with his associate identified as Shamsher Singh, alias Shera, presently based in Armenia.

As per preliminary investigations Happy Passian was working in connivance with Rinda and Shamsher to radicalise the youth by motivating them to carry out anti-national activities in the state, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said.

The police have recovered two pistols along with four magazines and 30 cartridges.

An FIR has been registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Arms Act at state Special Operation Cell in Amritsar.

--IANS

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Bengaluru, March 7 (IANS) A National Investigation Agency (NIA) team was in Karnataka's Bellary city in connection with the Rameshwaram Cafe bomb blast case.

The team reached the city in the early hours of Thursday, and sources said that more than 10 NIA officers in two vehicles were gathering information.

Sources also said that the alleged bomber had travelled to Tumakuru from Bengaluru after carrying out the explosion and from there he had come to Bellary city.

Another NIA team had reached a Tumakuru bus stand where the suspect was said to have been seen.

The sources said that the NIA has got information in Bellary that the accused had boarded a bus moving towards Gokarna city in coastal Karnataka from Mantralayam in Andhra Pradesh. It is suspected that the bomber was in Bhatkal town in Uttara Kannada district and may have plans of escaping to a foreign country.

The investigating agencies had earlier tracked many suspected terrorist activities in the coastal town of Bhatkal. It is suspected that the bomber is getting support from the sleeper cells to escape from the country and the NIA has intensified the probe to nab him, according to sources.

The sources also said that the bomber had come to the Sujatha Circle in Bengaluru in the heart of the city and boarded the bus for Tumakuru city. From here he had boarded another bus to Bellary city.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), probing the Bengaluru cafe blast case, on Wednesday released the photo of a man suspected of carrying out the explosion and also announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for providing information/ clues about him.

Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara earlier had said that the NIA has got a vital clue in connection with the blast that took place at the Rameshwaram Cafe here on March 1 in the Whitefield area.

Parameshwara further said that the case is being jointly probed by the NIA and the Special Wing of Central Crime Branch of Bengaluru Police.

--IANS

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Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 26 (IANS) The Congress on Monday cleared the candidature of K. Sudhakaran for the Lok Sabha election from the Kannur seat in Kerala.

He is the sitting Lok Sabha member from the constituency and also is Congress' Kerala chief.

Sudhakaran, a two-time MP from Kannur, was not keen to enter the fray due to some health issues. But following pressure from several quarters in the party after the CPI(M) decided to field local strongman M.V. Jayarajan, the Congress asked Sudhakaran to enter the fray.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress-led UDF had won 19 out of the 20 seats in the state, losing just the Alappuzha seat.

The Congress contested on 16 seats, the IUML two and the Kerala Congress and RSP one each.

In the 2019 polls, the UDF allies -- IUML won two seats, as did RSP candidate at Kollam and Kottayam which was won by Kerala Congress (Mani) party’s candidate, who later moved to the ruling CPI(M)-led Left Front.

The only seat that the Congress lost in 2019 was the Alappuzha seat and now with all the sitting Congress MPs cleared to contest, all eyes are on who will contest from Alappuzha.

--IANS

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Uttara Kannada (Karnataka), Feb 26 (IANS) An aged woman died of Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), known as monkey fever, in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district, taking the death toll due to the disease to four in the state.

The deceased is a 60-year-old woman from Koorlakai village in Siddapur taluk. The victim was being treated for three days at Meggan Hospital in Shivamogga and succumbed on Sunday night.

She was diagnosed with monkey fever 20 days ago and was suffering from symptoms of high fever. In Siddapur taluk alone, the number of monkey fever cases has risen to 43.

The state, which has 103 active monkey fever cases, had recorded three deaths so far, one each in Chikkamagaluru, Uttara Kannada and Shivamogga districts.

State Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao had recently held a high-level meeting with legislators and officers of three districts of the state where the outbreak of the disease has raised concern.

The state government has held talks with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for effective vaccination and authorities are hopeful of getting the vaccine sooner.

The awareness programme is also being undertaken in the regions where the disease has been detected.

Monkey fever is a tick-borne viral haemorrhagic disease which can be fatal to humans and other primates. The symptoms of KFD begin suddenly with chills, fever, and headache. Severe muscle pain with vomiting, gastrointestinal symptoms and bleeding problems may occur three-four days after onset of initial symptom.

--IANS

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Bengaluru, Feb 26 (IANS) Gali Janardhana Reddy, mining baron turned politician, on Monday met Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at his official residence Cauvery in Bengaluru.

Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Minister for Kannada and Culture Shivaraj Tangadagi were also present during the meeting.

The development has assumed importance in the backdrop of elections to the Rajya Sabha for four seats scheduled to be held on February 27 (Tuesday).

Reddy, MLA from Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha (KRJP) had earlier declared his support to BJP. However, he praised Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for granting Rs 100 crore for the development of Anjanadri pilgrimage centre, believed to be the birth place of Lord Hanuman in Koppal district of Karnataka.

BJP and JD (S) were banking on Reddy to ensure the victory of their fifth candidate Kupendra Reddy.

However, Janardhana Reddy has kept mum over which party he will support in the Rajya Sabha elections. The Rajya Sabha elections from Karnataka are being held for four seats. Congress has fielded AICC Treasurer Ajay Maken, Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain and G.C. Chandrashekhar.

Senior BJP leader Narayansa Bandage and Kupendra Reddy, from the JD-S have filed their nominations as the candidates of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for the Rajya Sabha. The fielding of Kupendra Reddy as the fifth candidate has created intense competition between the ruling Congress and the BJP.

--IANS

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Hyderabad, Feb 26 (IANS) A couple was electrocuted in Telangana’s Vikarabad district on Monday morning.

The incident occurred in the Burhanpur village of Bomraspet mandal.

Boina Laxman (48) and his wife Laxmi (42) were hanging clothes on an iron wire in front of their house.

The wire had come in contact with an electric line on the street, which led to the tragedy.

According to local residents, the incident occurred due to some technical problem in the power supply system in the area. The couple have one daughter and two sons. Police registered a case and launched an investigation

--IANS

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Srinagar, Feb 26 (IANS) Rain and snow over widespread areas is likely to occur in J&K beginning Monday evening, the Meteorological (MeT) department said.

An advisory issued by the local MeT department said, “In view of heavy and very heavy snowfall over few middle and higher reaches, travellers/tourists are advised to plan accordingly and follow administration/traffic advisory.

“General public in hilly and avalanche prone areas are advised not to venture out unless absolutely necessary.

“Farmers are advised to withhold agricultural operations during the first week of March.”

Srinagar had minus 2, Gulmarg minus 9 and Pahalgam had minus 7 as the minimum temperature.

In Ladakh region, Leh town had minus 17.1, Kargil minus 18.2 and Drass minus 21.7 as the minimum temperature.

Jammu city had 7.9, Katra 6.5, Batote 2.1, Bhaderwah minus 0.4 and Banihal 1.8 as the minimum temperature.

--IANS

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Chandigarh, Feb 26 (IANS) Hours after the broad daylight high-profile killing of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) Haryana President and two-time MLA Nafe Singh Rathi and his associate by car-borne in Bahadurgarh, the police has booked seven persons.

Also a CCTV footage has emerged which shows the movements of assailants in a Hyundai i10 just before the crime.

The case was registered against former Bahadurgarh MLA Naresh Kaushik, Ramesh Rathi, Sathish Rathi, and Rahul, among others.

INLD Chief’s son Jitendra Rathi said they will not perform the last rites of his father until the names of the accused mentioned in the FIR are arrested and the family is provided security. He blamed local politicians behind the crime.

This case has been registered on the statement of Rathi’s car driver and his nephew Rakesh.

Police said that five teams led by two Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs) to arrest the accused.

The police have also examined the CCTV footage near Barahi village in which the assailants were seen parking the car behind Rathi's car and they were seen running away in the same car after the crime.

Nafe Singh Rathi was sitting in the front seat of his SUV when the assailants waylaid the vehicle near the Barahi level-crossing and opened indiscriminate firing from close range.

--IANS

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Kolkata, Feb 26 (IANS) Ajit Maiti, the local Trinamool Congress leader from Sandeshkhali, who was detained by the police, was finally arrested on Monday.

Maiti was detained on Sunday evening to keep him safe from the rage of local women.

Officially, the district police have claimed that he was interrogated throughout the night on the allegation of illegal and forceful land grabbing against him by the local villagers and finally was officially arrested on Monday morning.

He will be presented at a lower district court on Monday only where police will seek his custody.

Maiti is the third Trinamool Congress leader from Sandeshkhali who has been arrested following allegations of forceful grabbing of farmland, illegal conversion of land into pisciculture farms and sexual harassment of women.

Earlier, the cops arrested two other local Trinamool Congress leaders, Uttam Sardar and Shibu Hazra.

Maiti’s rescue by the cops in the form of detention on Sunday evening was packed with high drama. Chased by the local villagers, especially women, Maiti locked himself in a room. The villagers assembled in front of the locked room.

Even as the police made all attempts to persuade the villagers to move away from the place, the villagers did not relent, and continued assembling on the doorsteps of Maiti's residence.

Eventually, when the people calmed down a little, the police intervened.

The police personnel persuaded Maiti to come out of his room. After he stepped out, he was detained and was taken to the police station.

--IANS

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Prayagraj, Feb 26 (IANS) The Allahabad High Court on Monday rejected the plea filed by Muslim side challenging the Varanasi court order allowing Hindu parties to offer prayers and puja in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi Mosque.

Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal delivered the verdict.

The single-judge had reserved order in the matter on February 15.

The plea was filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee challenging a January 31 district court order, permitting the conduct of Hindu prayers in the southern cellar or basement (tehkhana) of the Gyanvapi Mosque.

The said order was passed amid an ongoing civil court case involving conflicting claims over the religious character of the Gyanvapi compound.

Among other claims, the Hindu side has said that Hindu prayers were earlier offered by the family of one Somnath Vyas in the mosque's cellar until 1993, when the Mulayam Singh Yadav-led government allegedly stopped it.

The Muslim side has opposed this claim and maintained that Muslims have always had possession over the mosque's building.

The main dispute over the Gyanvapi compound involves a claim by the Hindu side that a section of an ancient temple on the said land was destroyed during the rule of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in the 17th century.

The Muslim side has maintained that the mosque predated Aurangzeb's reign and that it had endured various alterations over time.

Following the Varanasi district court's order on January 31 which allowed priests to perform prayers before the idols in the southern cellar of Gyanvapi, religious ceremonies were performed on the mosque's premises at midnight on February 1.

Later, the southern cellar was opened to devotees.

On February 13, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also visited the Gyanvapi premises and worshipped at the 'Vyas Ka Tekhana'.

--IANS

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