Naxal involved in Jiram valley attack held in Chhattisgarh
Raipur: A 36-year-old Naxalite who was allegedly involved in ghastly Jiram valley attack on Congress leaders, has been arrested in Chhattisgarh’s insurgency-hit Dantewada district, a senior police officer said on Sunday. The rebel identified as Joga Madkami was apprehended by a joint team of security forces from Chikanpal Patelpara village under Katekalyan police station limits last evening, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Kamlochan Kashyap told PTI. Acting on a tip-off, a joint squad of Special Task Force (STF) and district force launched an operation in the interiors of Katekalyan, around 450 km from here, and nabbed him, the SP said. Madkami was allegedly involved in executing several Naxal attacks including attack on Congress’s parivartan rally convoy in Jiram valley of Bastar’s Darbha region on May 25, 2013. At least 31 people, including Pradesh Congress Committee chief Nandkumar Patel and other senior party leaders were killed in the attack. Madkami was also allegedly involved in carrying out Maoist attack on security forces in which 11 persons were killed under Sukma district’s Tongpal police station area on March 11 last year, the SP said. The Jiram valley attack is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). His interrogation will reveal crucial details in connection with Jiram valley attack and NIA has been appraised about his arrest, the officer added. (PTI)
41 killed due to lightning during last fortnight in Maharashtra
Mumbai: Altogether 41 persons lost their lives due to lightning strike in various parts of Maharashtra during the last fortnight, an official said. Almost half the deaths were reported in drought-affected Marathwada region where lightning claimed 19 lives, the official added. “Altogether 19 persons died due to lightning strike in Marathwada region in the last fortnight,” Aurangabad Divisional Commissioner Umakant Dangat told PTI over phone. The district wise death figures include: Nashik -4, Aurangabad- 4, Ahmednagar- 5, Jalna – 3, Parbhani – 7, Osmanabad- 3, Latur – 2, Nanded – 4, Yavatmal – 3, Wardha – 1 and Nagpur 2. Environmentalist Atul Deulgaonkar said the number of deaths in the state due to lighting in last five years would be around 1000. The meteorology department is not interested in taking appropriate measures, he alleged. (PTI)
Several landmines explode in forest fire on LoC
Jammu: Over a dozen landmine explosions took place along the Line of Control (LoC) in the frontier Poonch district after a massive forest fire that started from the Pakistani side reached India. A forest fire that started from the other side of LoC on Friday spread to Balakote sector of Mendhar tehsil in Poonch district yesterday, resulting in the explosion of over a dozen landmines, a police officer said. The army and the forest department launched an operation and contained the fire, he added. (PTI)
116 acres of state land retrieved from encroachers in Kathua
Jammu: The revenue department has retrieved 116 acres of state land from the clutches of land encroachers in the Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir. The officials of the revenue authorities on Saturday retrieved the state land that was encroached upon by one Mohammed Din in the Bhagtali village of the Kathua district, an official spokesman said on Sunday. The deputy commissioner Kathua Ramesh Kumar issued directives to the Revenue officers to remove the encroachments immediately and report compliance. Following the directives the Tehsildar along with a team of revenue officials and a police team raided the area and removed the encroachments despite the resistance shown by the encroachers, he said. He said that the encroachment from the state land was removed and the land retrieved adding that the accused encroacher was also booked under various sections of Ranbir Penal Code. (PTI)
Cong holds blood donation camp
New Delhi: Delhi Congress on Sunday organised a blood donation camp at Shaheen Bagh in Okhla to help meet the growing demand for platelet in the wake of spurt in dengue cases in the national capital. The blood donation camp was organised by former Congress MLA Asif Mohamma Khan and local councillor Shoeb Danish. DPCC president Ajay Maken visited the camp. The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) had initiated dengue awareness and prevention campaigns last week as part of its social responsibility. Accordingly, fogging drives were carried out in all 14 districts of Delhi, Maken said. Accusing the AAP Government in Delhi and BJP-ruled civic bodies of “inaction” resulting in spread of dengue, Maken said that both failed to take timely steps. “There were no beds in hospitals to treat dengue patients, and now, there is severe shortage of blood,” the Congress leader claimed. (PTI)
