Youth killed in encounter
Srinagar: Army on Tuesday said the youth killed in an anti-militancy operation in Tral area of Pulwama district yesterday was an overground worker of Hizbul Mujahideen, dismissing claims that he was a civilian. An army spokesperson said the encounter in Buchoo forest area yesterday took place when a patrol party of the security forces came under fire from militants. “One soldier suffered gun shot wound. The fire fight ensued with terrorists. Once the firing subsided, search of the area was undertaken from which a body along with two AK 47 rifles and war-like stores were recovered from the site. “Later, the body was identified to be of listed overground worker Khalid Wani, brother of Burhan, Hizbul Mujahideen Commander, South Kashmir,” the spokesperson said. He said out of the two AK 47 rifles recovered from the site, one rifle was snatched from a policeman on August 8 last year. “Three youths were also arrested from the area by police. Consequent to questioning of the arrested youth, it was learnt that Khalid had taken them with him to the place where Burhan and three other terrorists were hiding. Khalid left three youths little away from where he was meeting Burhan,” he said. The spokesperson said when the patrol party was fired upon, the youth ran towards the area where Army soldiers were located. “They were allowed to move out of the site to safety. Later Jammu and Kashmir Police apprehended them for interrogation,” he said, adding the operation is still in progress to pursue the escaped militants. Protests erupted in Tral area this morning as local residents alleged that Khalid was innocent had no links with militancy. PTI
Maoists abduct seven tribals
Bhubaneswar: Seven tribals, including a village head and a former block chairperson, were abducted by Maoists in Odisha’s Malkangiri district, police said on Tuesday.They were abducted from Kartanpalli village on Monday night.Director General of Police Sanjeev Marik said the police have received information about the abduction and are trying to rescue them.Sources said there were about 15-20 armed Maoists who abducted the people.Police have launched a search operation to locate the tribals. The police has also sounded a high alert in six Maoist affected districts following a combing operation in the Sukma area of Chhattisgarh.”We are keeping a close eye on the movement of Maoists. We have sounded alert in the bordering districts,” Marik said, adding that intelligence gathering had also been strengthened. (IANS)
Google doodle marks Ambedkar’s birth anniversary
New Delhi: Google on Tuesday marked the 124th birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, with a doodle.The doodle featured in Argentina, Chile, India, Ireland, Peru, Poland, Sweden and Britain.Popularly known as Babasaheb, Ambedkar was a jurist, economist, politician and social reformer who campaigned against social discrimination against Dalits, women and labour. He was the first law minister of India and the principal architect of its constitution. (IANS)
Fake notes seized near Bangla border
Kolkata: Border Security Force personnel on Tuesday seized fake Indian currency notes (FICN) with a face value of Rs.8 lakh while being smuggled from Bangladesh into West Bengal’s Malda district.The seizure was made during a special operation by the 20 battalion of the BSF under Daulatpur border outpost in the district.”A special anti-FICN team noticed that some Bangladeshi miscreants threw a bag across the Indo-Bangladesh border. But an attempt to collect the bag by Indian miscreants was foiled by the troops,” a BSF officer said.The BSF personnel found Rs.8 lakh in fake notes in the bag. However, both the Bangladeshi and the Indian miscreants managed to flee.The BSF South Bengal Frontier has so far seized over Rs.84 lakh in FICNs this year. (IANS)
Arrest warrant issued against Union Minister Kalraj Mishra Pilibhit (UP), Apr 14 (PTI) A local court has issued an arrest warrant against Union Minister Kalraj Mishra in a case related to violation of model code of conduct during 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Chief Judicial Magistrate Abdul Kayyum issued the warrant yesterday and fixed May 21 as the next date of hearing after the Union minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises failed to turn up before the court. The court had earlier also issued the warrant due to Mishra’s non-appearance in the court despite repeated summons on a FIR of violation of the Election Commission’s model code of conduct. An FIR was lodged against Mishra on March 28, 2009 when he, along with supporters, allegedly stormed the court when BJP leader Varun Gandhi was surrendering before it in connection with a hate speech case, and damaged government property in spite of Section 144 (Unlawful Assembly) being in force. The FIR was registered at the Sadar Kotwali police station. PTI