Three Bajrang Dal men arrested for cowdung attack
Mangalore: Three Bajrang Dal members have been arrested for allegedly smearing cow dung on the face of Suresh Bhat, District President of Karnataka Komu Sauharda Vedike (Communal Harmony Forum), at a hotel here. Police gave the names of the arrested as Chethan, Tilak and Pradeep Pumpwell. The trio allegedly splashed cowdung on the face and body of Bhat as he was coming out of the venue of a media meet at a hotel here yesterday, after announcing plans for a rally ‘Shringeri Chalo’ scheduled for April 24 to protest killing of a person at the Agumbe checkpost, allegedly by the Anti Naxal Force personnel. The police action in Chikkamagalur district has triggered a controversy, but they have maintained that the ANF officials mistook him for a Maoist. (PTI)
India test fires Akash missile
Bhubaneswar: India Wednesday test fired its Akash surface-to-air missile from a defence base in Odisha, an official said. The indigenously developed missile, with a 27-km range and an effective ceiling of 15 km, was test fired from the Integrated Test Range of Chandipur in the coastal district of Balasore, 230 km from here. “It was a trial by the Indian Air Force,” test range director M.V.K.V. Prasad told IANS. The 700-kg all-weather missile can carry a 60-kg warhead at speeds of up to Mach 2.5. It can operate autonomously and simultaneously engage and neutralise different aerial targets. It can be launched from static or mobile platforms, enabling flexible deployment by the armed forces. Developed by DRDO, Akash is being produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited as the nodal production agency with the involvement of Bharat Electronics Limited and a large number of other industries. (IANS)
Vigilance seizes rice worth Rs 48 crore in AP
Hyderabad: The Vigilance and Enforcement Department has seized rice worth Rs 48 crore during a special drive across Andhra Pradesh following allegations of diversion of PDS rice and other commodities. As part of the special drive, 136 rice mills across the state were inspected yesterday and 94 cases were booked under relevant sections of Essential Commodities Act. During the drive, officials seized 2,99,422 quintals of paddy, 4,22,32 quintals of rice, 1,727 quintals of PDS rice and 12,395 quintals of broken rice all worth Rs 48.02 crore (as per market value), Director General (Vigilance and Enforcement) Department R P Thakur said on Wednesday. The department has been receiving large number of complaints about rice millers/traders that they indulge in storing foodgrains like paddy, superfine/common rice, broken rice and PDS rice clandestinely without having foodgrain licences under Andhra Pradesh, the senior official said. There are some cases wherein it was found that the business was run without FGL/VAT registration. PDS rice gets diverted from Central and State Wharehousing Corporations, private godowns to rice mills meant for Mandal Level Stock (MLS) points besides from MLS points to rice mills meant for Fair Price Shops (FPS), and also FPS dealers to rice mill/their agents meant for card holders, the official explained. (PTI)
