BJP hoisted reverse National Flag
Srinagar: BJP unfurled the National Flag from reverse side in party headquarters here on the occasion of 68th Independence Day (ID) on Friday. The local unit of BJP had organised ID celebration function at party headquarters here yesterday and invited among others, media persons also. Media and others present on the occasion were surprised when they saw green portion of the tri-colour on top, when it was unfurled at BJP headquarters. Later, when the mistake was brought to notice, the flag was brought down and hoisted again. A number of Urdu and English daily newspapers published the reverse flag in today’s issues. (UNI)
CRPF hoists flag at 2010 Dantewada ambush site
Raipur: CRPF, which lost 75 men in a deadly naxal ambush in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada in 2010, unfurled the tri-colour at the same encounter spot as a mark of domination of the area on the occasion of the Independence Day. A contingent of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troops, commandos of the specialised CoBRA battalion led by Inspector General (Operations) H S Sidhu, camped in Tadmetla-Chintagufa area of the Naxal violence affected Sukma district of the state yesterday to mark the Independence Day. The CRPF, since the 2010 ambush, has established a post in this area which lies in the most difficult Maoist hit area of Bastar of the state. “The flag hoisting ceremony was done to mark the domination of this area which few years back saw a total of 76 security personnel getting killed, 75 of which belonged to CRPF. Since last year the force has made it a point to unfurl the national flag here,” a senior official said. During the event yesterday, Naxals blew a number of locally made improvised bombs in the area which injured a CRPF constable Suchitra K Shetty who was part of sanitisation of the area. Shetty was later air evacuated to the state capital. (PTI)
2 BSF men killed in militant attack outside IAF airfield in JK
Srinagar: Two BSF personnel were killed while four others injured when militants opened fired at their vehicle just outside the Awantipora IAF airfield in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. Officials said a squad of Border Security Force (BSF) personnel was changing guard at the airfield in Pulwama, 33 kms from here, this afternoon when a group of militants opened fire at them from automatic weapons. The BSF is deployed for securing the Indian Air Force airfield and the squad that came under militant attack belongs to the ‘G’ company of BSF’s 165th battalion. “The militants opened fire at the BSF squad that was in a military gypsy. Two personnel were killed and four have been injured in the firing,” a senior official said. Immediately after the firing, the other BSF personnel present on the spot retaliated but the militants fled. A reinforcement contingent of the Rashtriya Rifles and the BSF has reached the area for search and sanitisation task, they said. The injured have been shifted to an Army base hospital in the vicinity of the airfield located, they said. (PTI)
Odisha to get its second Agri University: Minister
Bhubaneswar: Odisha will soon get its second Agriculture University in the poverty stricken KBK (Kalahandi- Balangir-Koraput) region of the state. “The state is planning to establish its second Agriculture University in an area under KBK districts and the government has already made budgetary allocation for the purpose,” Agriculture Minister Pradeep Maharathy said here on Thursday. The existing Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) could accommodate only 1,808 students in an academic year, he said. OUAT, established on August 24, 1962, is the second oldest Agriculture University in the country. It has been discharging its triple functions of Education, Research and Extension Education Programme in an integrated manner in the field of Agriculture and Allied Sciences. (PTI)
13-year-old boy killed
Moga: A 13-year-old boy was murdered allegedly by four persons, including two brothers, near a hospital at Badhni Kalan in the district, police said on Saturday. The victim has been identified as Lovpreet Singh, a student of class 7, they said. The boy was attacked with clubs last evening by four persons, while he was being taken to a hospital by his parents after he had fallen ill, police said. Two of the accused had been identified as Ashok Kumar and Shinda, who are brothers, and two others were unidentified, they said, a case has been registered against all the accused and a hunt has been launched to arrest the remaining two. Prima facie, the incident appears to have been triggered by a heated exchange between the parents of the boy and the four persons, they said. (PTI)
Guard dies at Vijay Mallya’s Goa villa
Panaji: A security guard at liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s ‘Kingfisher Villa’ in the upscale beach-village of Candolim was found dead late Friday, police said. A police spokesperson said Saturday that a case of unnatural death had been registered at the Calangute police station following the death of Saraj Kumar Singh, a resident of Bihar, who was posted as a security official at the Kingfisher Villa. “The body has been taken to the Goa Medical College for post mortem examination,” an official at the Calangute police station said. (IANS)
600 booked for drunk driving at night in Goa
Panaji: Nearly 600 drunk drivers have been booked by Goa’s traffic police in less than a month, the authorities said on Saturday. Asking drivers in Goa not to drink and drive, a statement issued by the state government said that the traffic police are in the process of purchasing 12 alcometers to nab drunk drivers in addition to the four which they have. Drunken driving on Independence Day night alone accounted for 26 offences, the statement said, adding that all the drunk driving offences were booked at night. Goa, a well known tourism destination, is known for its beaches and nightlife. (IANS)