Army jawan kills self in Kashmir

Srinagar: An Army jawan allegedly took his own lift by shooting himself with his service rifle inside a camp in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir, police said on Monday. Sepoy Sunil was on sentry duty at Wusan camp in Kangan area, 40km from here, when his colleagues heard a shot on Sunday night and rushed towards him, they said. The jawan was found dead. Preliminary investigations revealed that the sepoy used his service rifle to end his life, police said. It was, however, not immediately known what prompted him to take the extreme step, they added. (PTI)

Two LeT militants killed in encounter

Srinagar: Two Lashker-e-Toiba militants were killed and an Army officer was injured in an encounter between the two sides in Handwara area of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Monday. The encounter took place at village Malikpora in Vilgam area of Handwara, 85km from here, when Army and police launched a joint search operation following information about presence of militants there, a senior police officer said. He said the hiding militants opened fire on the security forces, who retaliated, triggering off a fierce gunbattle which lasted several hours. Two militants, believed to be foreigners, were killed and an army officer identified as Major Sandeep Kotwal was injured in the gunbattle. Some arms and ammunition were recovered from the possession of the slain militants. (PTI)

Cracker burst creates panic

Bangalore: Panic gripped the busy Kalasipalya area in the heart of the city on Monday following a cracker burst, a top police official said. People started running helter skelter after “handi bomb”, a cracker used for chasing wild boars in villages, went off near the Kalasipalya bus stand when a person walked over it, Additional Police Commissioner Kamal Pant told PTI here. The person has not sustained any injuries and is safe, he added. Preliminary investigations pointed to a cracker and not a bomb, as no splinters were found at the site of the blast, which did not also create any crater, Pant said. (PTI)

Judicial remand of 29 fishermen extended

Rameswaram (TN): A Sri Lankan court extended the judicial remand of 29 fishermen arrested by Lankan Navy for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line, official sources said here on Monday. The fishermen were arrested on charges of crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line on February 13. The remand was extended to March 24 by Judicial Magistrate court in Oorkaval , the sources said. This is the second time their remand was being extended, they said. (IANS)

Minor gangraped in UP

Maharajganj (UP): A 15-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped by two unidentified youths in Paniyara area here, police said on Monday. The girl was gangraped last evening when she went to collect wood from Thikariya jungle, they said. An FIR has been lodged against two unknown youths, police said. (PTI)

Malaysian held for smuggling gold

New Delhi: A Malaysian of Indian-origin has been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold bars worth Rs 30 lakh. The accused was intercepted by customs officials at the international airport here on Sunday. “On detailed examination of his baggage and on his personal search, 11 pieces of gold bars weighing 1.1 kg and valued at Rs 29.53 lakh were found concealed under his shoe insoles and spectacle case,” a customs official said. The passenger was arrested and the gold bars seized. (PTI)

Tribals in Odisha to boycott twin polls

Koraput (Odisha): People belonging to five tribal communities in Koraput district in Odisha have decided to boycott assembly and Lok Sabha polls, protesting against the government’s failure to give them tribal status. Leaders of Dora, Muka Dora, Nuka Dora, Rana and Mali communities under the banner Koraput Zilla Bana Basi Maha Sangh (KZBBS) said the decision was taken over the weekend. “Around two lakh voters of our communities will boycott the upcoming twin polls. Many times we have approached both the state and Union governments regarding our demand, but in vain,” Secretary of Sangh, Trinath Gamel said. According to KZBBS president Gokul Chandra Khoda, “Members of the communities are deprived of various benefits meant for tribals. Government should include us in the list of tribals and launch a special project for our development.” People of these communities mostly reside at Pottangi, Semiliguda and Nandapur blocks of the district and make a living for themselves by undertaking minor cultivation and collecting minor forest produce. Assistant sub-collector (Koraput) Muralidhar Swain said, “It is up to the community members to decide whether they should participate in the elections or not. We cannot force anybody to take part in poll process.” (PTI)

Bringing fiction to life on Twitter

New Delhi: Twitteraties now have a unique opportunity to showcase their storytelling skills. From March 12 a five-day virtual writing celebration called the Twitter Fiction Festival will be held entirely on the social networking site in which anyone can join and tell stories. Organised by the Association of American Publishers and Penguin Random House, the second edition of the festival will see a showcase of authors from across the industry crafting fiction on Twitter. The festival was first held in 2012, when authors and everyday people from around the world submitted their fiction ideas. Storytellers created characters, crowd-sourced plots, used imagery to convey narrative, and crafted multiple handles to weave together tales in real-time. Throughout the festival award winning and bestselling authors will also be tweeting fiction alongside 25 contest winners. As part of the festival, Random House India writer Meghna Pant, author of “Happy Birthday and Other Stories” and “One and a Half Wife”, will be retelling the Mahabharata in 100 tweets from Thursday. Using a collection of screenshots from a variety of films, writer Ankur Thakkar will be recreating a Bollywood movie through visual tweets. As in every Bollywood movie, there will be dancing, love, heartbreak, and comedy. But unlike any other Bollywood movie, this one will be entirely on Twitter. (IANS)