Three killed, 12 injured in Kabul suicide attack

Kabul, May 18 (ANI): At least three persons were killed and scores other sustained injuries in a suicide attack which purportedly targeted US vehicles in the heavily fortified government area in Kabul on Tuesday.

According to initial reports, a suicide bomber rammed his explosives laden vehicle into another vehicle near the Afghan Energy and Water Ministry.

Abdul Ghafor Sayedzada, chief of Kabul police’s criminal investigation unit, said the blast was believed to have been targeted at US vehicles present in the area, which houses several government buildings and other important installations.

At least 12 injured persons have been admitted to hospitals across the city till reports last came in.

Unconfirmed reports said the Taliban has taken the responsibility for the suicide attack.

More details are awaited. (ANI)

Bathani Tola massacre: Three sentenced to death, 20 get life term

Ara (Bihar), May 12 (ANI): A court here on Wednesday awarded death sentences to three persons and life imprisonment to over 20 others in connection with the infamous Bathani Tola massacre in Bhojpur District in 1996 in which 21 Dalits were killed.

Additional District and Sessions Judge A K Srivastava announced the quantum of punishment for the accused.

Earlier on May 5, Srivastava had convicted 23 accused persons and acquitted 30 others for want of evidence in connection with the carnage that took place under Sahar block of Bhojpur district on July 11, 1996 by suspected activists of Ranvir Sena, a private militia of land owners.

Around 70 Sena men had raided the village and killed 21 Dalits, mostly women and girls, including two babies in the age group of three to nine months. (ANI)

Naga students protest in New Delhi

New Delhi, May 8 (ANI): Naga students in New Delhi expressed their anger over the ”unwarranted firing” by security personnel at the Mao Gate in Manipur on May 5 that led to the death of two women and injured over a hundred others.

The student activists said it is imperative that the Central Government intervenes to defuse the current situation and allow Thuingaleng Muivah, General Secretary of the rebel National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM), to visit his home in the state without any further delay.

“Our leader has not been allowed to visit his birthplace. This is not possible, it is his democratic right, the Government of India has given him free movement and is with him. We want the Government of India to act sincerely,” said Livingstone, one of the activists, who took part in the protest march.

“This violation of human rights should not be there and Thuingaleng Muivah should be allowed to visit his birthplace. It is his right and his duty,” he added.

The Manipur Government has banned the entry of Muivah in the state, where he has planned to visit his ancestral place, Somdal.

The state government has imposed an embargo on his visit, contending that it will create a law and order problem and might disturb the peace in Manipur.

At least three persons were killed when security forces fired tear gas shells, mock bombs and live bullets to control a crowd, who were vandalising and setting afire police vehicles and other goods kept at the Mao Town Hall after their attempt to take out a protest rally against the decision to bar Muivah from visiting Manipur.

Muivah had proposed to visit Somdal, located in Ukhrul district, between May 3 and 10. (ANI)

Ajmer blast accused petition accepted, Rajasthan Government to file reply

Ajmer, May 7 (ANI): A court in Ajmer on Friday admitted the revised petition of Devendra Gupta, arrested for his alleged role in the 2007 Ajmer Dargah blast and issued a notice to the Rajasthan Government to file its reply by May 10.

Gupta”s advocate Umardan Lakhawat said the District and Session Judge Ajmer Prashant Agarwal has admitted the petition and asked the State government to file its reply by May 10.

Gupta, who is allegedly linked to Hindu outfit Abhinav Bharat Sangathan had on Thursday filed a revised petition against the proposed narco and brain mapping tests conducted on him by the Rajasthan Anti Terror Squad (ATS).

The petition comes just two days after the ruling of the Supreme Court that illegal compulsory use of narco-analysis, brain-mapping and polygraph tests techniques amount to cruel and degrading treatment and unwarranted intrusion into personal liberty.

In his petition, Gupta claimed that the ATS had not taken his permission for conducting the tests.

Earlier on April 3, the court had granted permission to the ATS to conduct a narco-analysis test on Gupta.

Gupta was arrested last week from Ajmer, when he had come to meet his ailing mother.

He is suspected to be involved in the blast inside the Dargah of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti.

The ATS has so far arrested three persons in the blast case- Devendra from Ajmer and Chandrashekhar and Vishnu Patidar from Madhya Pradesh.

Police are also probing Gupta”s alleged links with Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a key accused in the Malegaon blast case.

Chandrashekhar, who is also suspected to have connections with Hindu right-wing groups, is alleged to be a key member of the terror module involved in the Ajmer blast.

At least three persons were killed and over 15 others were injured in the Ajmer Dargah blast in 2007. (ANI)

Three killed in Chhattisgarh coal mine blast

Koria (Chhattisgarh), May 7 (ANI): At least three persons, including a deputy general manager, were killed and 32 injured in a blast in the South Eastern Coalfield Limited (SECL) coal mines in Chhattisgarh’s Koria District on Friday.

The SECL coal mine is situated in the Anjani Hills in the Chirmiri area of the District.

According to Koria District Collector Alok Awasthi, the dead were identified as S K Goswami, Nirmal Jangde and Radheshyam.

Six employees working in the mine are still missing, he added.

Fifteen of the 32 injured are critical and have been admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Bilaspur.

The others are undergoing treatment at a divisional hospital in Chirmiri.

Awasthi said that mining at the coal mine has been stopped since Wednesday after a gas leakage, and a team was working to repair it.

While the team was working at the mine on Friday morning, a blast occurred suddenly and its entrance was blocked.

SECL employees and a police team have begun a rescue operation. (ANI)

Rajasthan ATS granted permission for narco test on Ajmer blast suspect

Ajmer, May 3 (ANI): A court in Ajmer on Monday granted permission to the Rajasthan Anti Terror Squad (ATS) to conduct a narco-analysis test on Devendra Gupta, who was arrested for his alleged role in the 2007 Ajmer Dargah blast.

Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate-I Ajmer Khagendra Sharma granted permission to the ATS, who had moved the court on Saturday to seek permission to carry out the test.

An ATS team will take Gupta to Hyderabad to get the tests conducted.

Gupta, who is allegedly linked to Hindu outfit Abhinav Bharat Sangathan, was arrested last week from Ajmer when he had come to meet his ailing mother.

He is suspected to be involved in the blast inside the Dargah of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti.

The ATS has so far arrested three persons in the blast case- Devendra from Ajmer and Chandrashekhar and Vishnu Patidar from Madhya Pradesh.

Gupta and Chandrashekar are in police remand and are being interrogated by the ATS in Jaipur. They will be produced before the court on May 12.

Police are also probing Gupta”s alleged links with Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a key accused in the Malegaon blast case.

Chandrasekhar, who is also suspected to have connections with Hindu right-wing groups, is alleged to be a key member of the terror module involved in the Ajmer blast.

At least three persons were killed and over 15 others were injured in the Ajmer Dargah blast in 2007. (ANI)

Three killed in Assam road mishap

Guwahati, Mar 31 (ANI): At least three persons were killed and another one injured when a Tata Safari collided head on with a Truck at Lampara on National Highway 37 near Guwahati today.

According to sources, the Safari Car was coming from Guwahati while the Truck was coming from Bako.

The injured have been shifted to the Guwahati Medical College Hospital. (ANI)

Jharkhand police arrest three persons with hundreds of detonators

Hazaribagh (Jharkhand), Sep 19 (ANI): Jharkhand police recovered a huge cache of detonators with the arrest of three persons on Friday.

The recovery was made in Hazaribagh district after the police got a tip off that some people were going to supply explosives.

“Police had got the information that some people were going to supply explosives and they were intercepted on the way while they were on a motorcycle. We recovered 900 electronic detonators from them,” said Pankaj Kamboz, superintendent of police, Hazaribagh district.

Detonators are usually used in stone quarries and since the region is Maoist infested the police said they feared that the explosives would have reached the ultras. (ANI)

Three persons detained for stone-pelting on Rahul Gandhi’s train

Karnal (Haryana)/New Delhi, Sep 17(ANI): Three persons were detained by the Haryana Police on Thursday for allegedly pelting stones at the train in which Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi was traveling on Tuesday.

The Haryana police had, earlier, launched a massive manhunt for a group of young men who had allegedly pelted stones at the Swarn Shatabdi Express near Gharaunda town in Haryana, which was seen as a major security breach by the intelligence agencies.

“We have detained three suspects in this particular case. We have taken them for corroboration and have detained them for further questioning,” V Kamraj, Inspector General of Police.

Kamraj also informed that the three did not possess a criminal background.

“We have not arrested them, but have detained them. They have no criminal background. They are locals from Gharounda,” said Kamraj.

Gandhi had taken the train while returning from Ludhiana, where he went to attend a party youth workshop. Though no one was injured, windowpanes of C-2, C-4 and C-7 were damaged in the stone pelting.

Gandhi was seated in C-3 coach, which was not affected in the incident. (ANI)

Three die in an explosion in Jaipur’s scrap factory

Jaipur, Sep.13 (ANI): At least three persons died and three injured in an explosion at a scrap factory in Jaipur’s Vishwakarma Industrial Area on Sunday afternoon.

The injured were rushed to the Sawai Mansingh Hospital for immediate medical attention.

According to the police, the explosion occurred around 3.30 p.m. when workers were trying to remove iron from a live-shell. The explosion occurred during hammering.

According the expert of Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team, which also reached at the spot, the intensity of blast was very high.

It could not be ascertained, where the live-shell had come from; whether it was disposed off shell of the Army or arrived at some imported scrap. (ANI)

Karnataka police cracked inter state Arms racket

Bangalore, Sep 13 (ANI): The Bangalore Police on Sunday claimed to have cracked an inter-state arms racket with the arrest of arrested three persons alleged for their involvement in it.

The police suspect that might have links in the other parts of the country also.

City Police Commissioner, Shankar Bidari, said: “These arms with foreign markings were manufactured in an illicit factory, operated somewhere in northern India and were supplied to anti-social and anti-nation elements in many parts of the country.”

“The police have recovered sophisticated firearms bear the marks of foreign manufacturers,” Bidari added.

“In this connection we have arrested three persons and recovered four revolvers of 0.35 bore, one 0.9 mm pistol and 32 live cartridges worth 800 thousands rupees,” he further added.

Bidari has requested the State Police chief to hand over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation as the police suspect the involvement of larger nation wide racket in it.

“The investigation in this requires to be done in various states of the country; therefore we are proposing to handover this case to CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) so that thorough and prompt investigation is conducted and the entire racket is brought to book,” Bidari felt. (ANI)

Manipur police personnel behind Imphal bomb attack

Imphal (Manipur), Sep 6 (ANI): In an astonishing revelation, the India Reserve Battalion (IRB) was involved in a bomb attack at a private hospital in Imphal, leaving Manipuris flabbergasted.

It is reported that militants gave Rs 5000 to an IRB rifleman to set off a grenade at the Chamber of Commerce Hospital at Thangal Bazaar in Imphal that left three persons injured.

The rifleman was identified as T. Munal, and has been apprehended by the police.

“There will be a strict control room exclusively for the commandos, so that the control room will have details about their duties and there will be a general diary which will give record of what all activities they are doing. With this sort of things and a little more check, I think with that we should be able to weed out those black sheep,” said Y. Joykumar Singh, The Director General of Police (DGP) of Manipur.

T. Munal was posted at the Battalion headquarters at Khuman Lampak in Imphal and was allegedly involved in several other attacks carried out in the state.

Munal has disclosed that a cadre of KCP (MC) militant outfit had given him the hand grenade.

The incident has shocked the people in the state. They condemned the act.

“Security forces protect us but if they do such things, the people of Manipur will be no more. We condemn the act,” said Zathlingthang, a local.

“They are here to protect the people and a rifleman committing such crime is condemnable act. The people of the state are suffering because of such crimes,” added Khomi, another local.

Meanwhile, reacting to the involvement of state police personnel in the incident, Union Home Secretary G.K Pillai, who was on a visit to assess the overall law and order situation in the state, urged the state government to bring transparency in the recruitment of constables.

“If constables come into the police force on merit, you will get a much better, more efficient police force. Complain has come that some of the people who have been recruited did not undergo adequate screening of some of them. Screening would be done by the Manipur police to remove all the undesirable elements from the state police forces,” Pillai said. (ANI)

Punjab Police recover arms and explosives from militants’ in Patiala

Patiala (Punjab), Sep 4(ANI): Punjab police on Friday arrested three persons in Patiala, including two suspected militants, and recovered large cache of weapons and 2.5 kilograms of RDX from their possession.

The police contend that their plan was to create terror in the state and said that RDX was recovered after one of the suspected militant, Raj Singh, who told the police officials about their hide out.

“Two of the militants, Makhan Singh and Raj Singh have been placed in police remand. We have recovered 315-bore revolver and four live magazines. Raj Singh helped us track down 2.5 kilograms of RDX and detonators which were foreign made,” said Arpit Shukla, Senior Superintendent of Police.

“The RDX was meant to be used in Patiala and its contents could have created major damage to life and property,” Shukla added.

Reportedly, one of the arrested persons is wanted in connection with the killing of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat chief, an affiliate of the radical Hindu outfit Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Shukla further informed that the lethal consignment was smuggled into the country from Pakistan. (ANI)

Idols worth Rs 10 million recovered by Chennai police

Chennai, Sep 1(ANI): Nine antique idols, stolen from Panchaloka temple in Tamil Nadu, were recovered by Chennai police on Monday.

According to reports, it included idols of Lord Vishnu, Lord Balamurugan, Lord Azhwar, Goddess Sridevi and Goddess Boomadevi.

The idols were recovered from three men, who were identified as Shyam, Murugan and Sugumaran.

It is said that the idols are worth Rs 10 million and have their origins in the tenth century.

“A special team intercepted the central railway station of Chennai on suspicion. Subsequently, we found out three persons with all the nine idols were there inside the car. They were arrested immediately, the value of the idols is Rs 10 million in the Indian market,” said S Rajendran, Inspector General of Police (Economic Idol Wing).

The three accused who had intentions to export the idols, have been remanded to judicial custody.

The alleged thieves also operate an antique showroom, which was a meeting point for both the sellers and buyers of stolen antique items. (ANI)

Two feared dead as 60-year-old bridge collapses in Bihar

Nawada (Bihar), Aug 25(ANI): At least two people were feared dead and 24 others injured when a bridge collapsed at Kadirganj Bazaar in Bihar’s Nawada district on Tuesday.

Two jeeps, two trucks, a food grain-laden bullock cart and several other vehicles fell down, when the 60-year-old bridge along the Nawada-Jamui state highway suddenly collapsed.

“At least 30 to 35 people were injured in this accident and I also saw locals carrying bodies of two to three persons,” said Ram Kishore, an eyewitness.

While the injured were rushed to a government hospital in the area, five critically injured persons were rushed to Patna Medical College Hospital.

Rescue operations were on at the site and cranes have been engaged to clear the bridge debris.

Meanwhile, vehicular traffic on the route leading to Jharkhand from Jamui and Nawada came to a halt after the collapse of the bridge. (ANI)

Three persons rescued in the building collapse incident of central Mumbai

Mumbai, Aug.25 (ANI): At least three of the 10 people trapped under the rubble of the central Mumbai’s five-storey building that collapsed here on Tuesday evening have been brought out during the rescue operation being carried out by police and fire brigade personnel.

Some construction work was on at the time of the tragic incident, which occurred at the Lamington Road here, an IBN 7 report stated.

According to initial reports, the front portion of the Khatau Mansion Building, located on Lamington Road of the central Mumbai, caved in.

About a dozen fire tenders have been rushed to the place of incident for facilitating rescue operations. (ANI)

Peshawar blast: Case registered against Lashkar-e-Islam

Peshawar, Aug 24 (ANI): The Peshawar Police has registered a case against an outlawed outfit of the Khyber Agency, Lashkar-e-Islam, for killing three persons and injuring 15 in Momin Town in a suicide bomb attack.

Four persons, including the suicide bomber, were killed in Peshawar. It was triggered by an apparent feud between rival militant groups, police said.

The attacker blew himself up outside the home of a brother of Mubeen Afridi, a spokesman for Taliban-linked extremist group Ansar-ul-Islam, who was killed in a remote-controlled blast on Saturday night.

According to police sources, a case has been registered in the Momin Town suicide blast against outlawed organization Lashkar-e-Islam.

Last year, the government launched a major operation against militant groups in Khyber after the rebels threatened to take over Peshawar, and the offensive sent their leaders running into the mountains bordering Afghanistan. (ANI)

Khairlanji case hearing to begin today

Mumbai, Aug 24 (ANI): Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court will start hearing the appeals filed by eight convicts of the Khairlanji Dalit killing case from today.

A division bench will comprise of Justices A P Lavande and P B Vairale.

In September last year, the trial court at Bhandara awarded capital punishment to six convicts, while two were given life imprisonment for killing four members of Bhotmange family.

The convicts are: Sakru Binjawar, Shatrughan Dhande, Vishwanath Dhande, Ramu Dhande, Jagdish Mandlekar, Prabhakar Mandlekar, Gopal Binjawar and Shishupal Dhande.

Three persons, Mahipal Dhande, Dharampal Dhande and Purushottam Titarmare, were acquitted for lack of evidence.

The CBI had filed an appeal seeking death sentence for Binjawar and Dhande, and reversal of acquittal of the trio.

The agency had said all the accused were convicted for same crime and hence deserve same punishment.

The High Court had asked the CBI to prepare a detailed chart-mentioning role of each of the accused in the case along with details of charges framed against them and supporting evidences produced before the trial court. (ANI)

Modi Govt. invokes Epidemic Act, as 9 fresh cases of H1N1 reported

Ahmedabad, Aug.19 (ANI): Expressing concerned over the consistent rise in swine flu cases in different parts of the State, the Gujarat government on Wednesday opted to invoke the pidemic Act

Gujarat recorded nine fresh H1N1 infections on Wednesday.

State’s Principal Secretary for Health, Ravi Saxena said: “We have invoked the Act and now can quarantine any person, use any building or hospital and ask for compulsory cleanliness in any part of the state.”

With Wednesday’s invocation of the Epidemic Act, Gujarat joined Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi who have already invoked the Act.

Once the Act is invoked, the state health authorities get powers to deal with the pandemic, Saxena said.

In last two days, 22 positive cases of the swine flu have been reported from various districts like Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Valsad and Gandhinagar besides Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat.

Meanwhile, with the fresh cases, the total number of H1N1 infections has risen to 67 in the Gujarat state where three persons, including an NRI, have succumbed to the viral disease. (ANI)

Jharkhand police seized 450 bags of explosives

Hazaribagh (Jharkhand), Aug 18 (ANI): Jharkhand police arrested three persons and seized a consignment of 450 bags of ammonium nitrate and 10 detonators here.

Acting on a tip off, the police raided a truck laden with bags of ammonium nitrate in Ichak block of Hazaribagh district and nabbed the three persons escorting the explosive materials.

“We were constantly getting information that ammonium nitrate is brought in the jurisdiction of Ichak Police Station and is immediately distributed. In the past as well we came to know during interrogation with three to four rebels that they had taken ammonium nitrate from Ichak for making landmines,” said Pankaj Khamboj, Superintendent of Police, Hazaribagh.

Police said that seized ammonium nitrate was to be supplied to Maoists who in turn would have used it to make landmines and other explosives.

Ammonium nitrate chemical is a common ingredient in making bombs, mines and allied detonators. Though used as a fertiliser, ammonium nitrate can also be mixed with other materials to make a powerful explosive. (ANI)