WWII vintage bomb found in Andaman islands
Kolkata: An unexploded bomb of World War-II era was found by tribals living in an island of Andaman after which it was disposed off safely by defence commandos, officials said on Monday. Last week, locals had spotted the bomb in Tamaloo village of Car Nicobar island and the matter was reported to the defence tri-service Andaman Nicobar Command. “Although it was a very old bomb but the fuses were still intact and it posed a risk to the local population. So a team of our Marine Commandos (MARCOS) were sent to dispose it off in a safe place,” Command’s PRO R P Deshpande told PTI from Port Blair. MARCOS is a special operations unit of the Indian Navy which are trained to conduct highly specialised operations. They took the bomb to a beach, far away from the civilian population, where it was detonated using plastic explosives in a pit yesterday, the official said. In 1942 during WWII, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were captured by the Japanese Forces but in 1945 these islands were again re-captured by British forces. (PTI)
RSS hopes BJP will act on Ram Temple issue
Lucknow: RSS on Monday insisted that a “grand temple” be built in Ayodhya and hoped the Narendra Modi government will take up the issue seriously and fulfil BJP’s poll promise. “We hope the Centre will take Ram Temple issue seriously as Hindu community wants construction of grand temple in Ayodhya. BJP had mentioned it in its manifesto. We should wait for some time”, RSS General Secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi told reporters at the end of the three-day RSS meet here. He was asked whether the Ram Temple issue was discussed at the RSS conclave. “The issue of Ram Temple is always under discussion. Ram Temple is there, this should be accepted. There is a need to make this temple grand. The puja is performed there, thousands of people visit there to pay obeisance. Hindu community wants that a grand temple be constructed there”, he said. On the first day of the meet, RSS Joint General-Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale had said that the government has ample time till 2019 to act on the issue of construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. “Ram Temple is in agenda of the country, its in national interest. We had been supporting VHP and religious leaders on the issue of construction of Ram temple,” Hosabale had said. (PTI)
Pakistani intruder arrested along LoC in J&K’s Poonch
Jammu: A Pakistani intruder was arrested by army along the LoC in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. Troops guarding the Line of Control (LoC) noticed the intruder moving suspiciously in Salohtri-Krishnagati forward area Sunday night, an army officer said on Monday. The intruder was caught and was identified as 50-year-old Rahman Khan, a resident of Sarori in Pulandri area of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), he added. The troops seized from him Rs 460 in Pakistani currency and a plastic packet containing some drugs, the officer said, adding that nothing incriminating was recovered. He appeared to be a drug addict and will be handed over to police for further interrogation, he said. (PTI)
Maoists blow up railway track in Bokaro
Bokaro (Jharkhand): Maoists on Monday blew up a portion of a railway track in Bokaro district disrupting train services, police said here. The rebels destroyed about 1.5 metre track near Jhumra hills between Dania and Jageshwar stations, Superintendent of Police Jitendra Singh said. Both the UP and DN Gomo-Barwadih passenger trains were held up at different points and police has rushed to the spot, he said. (PTI)
Three Naxals surrender before cops in C’garh
Raipur: Three Naxals, active in the outlawed CPI (Maoist) movement since the past eight years, surrendered in Chhattisgarh’s insurgency-hit Kondagaon district today, police said. “The cadres surrendered before senior police officials citing high-handedness of senior cadres, particularly those from Andhra Pradesh as well as sexual exploitation of women and girls by them,” Kondagaon Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Surjit Atri told PTI. Those surrendered were identified as Dhaniram Gond (22), Mangal Salaam (26) and Kumarsingh Korram (28), Atri said adding that they were involved in several incidents of crime in the region, including damaging government properties, looting food commodities meant for villagers, executing attacks on security forces, among others. Head of Chetna Natya Manch (CNM), a cultural outfit of the banned CPI (Maoist) and Koleng Janatana Sarkar, Dhaniram was carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his head, he said. Korram was looking after the recruitment of children in the outfit, while Mangal was working as Janmilitia member, the ASP said. (PTI)