India, Pak forces exchange sweets at Attari border on Diwali
Attari: Indian and Pakistani forces at the border here exchanged sweets on the occasion of Diwali. BSF Amritsar sector Commandant Bipul Bir Gusain handed a basket full of sweets to Pakistan Ranger Wing Commander Lt Col Bilal Ahmed at the zero line, officials said here. On the occasion, pleasantries were also exchanged as the troops hugged each other and wished Diwali greetings. The exchange of sweets between troops of the two countries assume significance in the wake of strained ties between India and Pakistan of late. Earlier, no ceremonial exchange of sweets and gifts had taken place between BSF and Pakistan Rangers during the Independence day celebrations on both the sides. (PTI)
Chetia extradition: PM thanks Sheikh Hasina
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today called his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina, the day Dhaka handed over leader of the banned ULFA Anup Chetia to India. “PM @narendramodi spoke to Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina. He wished PM Hasina on Diwali and thanked her for the help in fighting terrorism,” the PMO said in a tweet. Chetia, who had been arrested by Bangladesh police in 1997, was handed over to Indian custody this morning, diplomatic sources told UNI. The ULFA leader has been seeking asylum in Bangladesh since 2005. (UNI)
CR to run four AC superfast trains between LTT and Lucknow
Mumbai: The Central Railway (CR) has decided to run 4 AC Superfast specials trains between Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and Lucknow to clear the extra rush of passengers during the ongoing festive season. 02107 AC Superfast special will leave Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 1420 hrs on November 21 and 28 and will arrive Lucknow at 1345 hrs next day, CR sources said here on Wednesday. 02108 AC Superfast special will leave Lucknow at 1620 hrs on November 22 and 29 and will arrive Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at 1730 hrs next day. It will halt at Thane, Kalyan, Nasik Road, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Habibganj, Jhansi, Orai and Kanpur. Composition of train will be One First AC, Three AC-2 Tier, Ten AC-3 Tier, One AC Pantry Car. Reservation Bookings for train No 02107 AC Superfast special on special charges will open from November 14, sources said. (UNI)
Yet another incident of sacrilege in Punjab
Moga (Pb): Incidents of sacrilege of holy book continued unabated in Punjab with burnt pages of Guru Granth Sahib and some Hindu scriptures being recovered from a canal near Kachha Ghal Kalan road in this district today, police said. Police and representatives of Sikh and Hindu outfits reached the spot and took the burnt religious scriptures in their custody. Police said that it appeared to be a handiwork of some anti-social elements, aimed at disturbing peace in Punjab. Police have launched an investigation even as an uneasy calm prevailed in the area. Yesterday, torn pages of holy book were found near the Gobindpura village gurdwara in Mansa district, police said. The torn pages were first noticed by some villagers, police said adding that the religious scriptures were sent to Gurdwara Damdama Sahib in Talwandi Sabo. The situation in both the areas is under control and no protests have taken place after the incident, police said. Punjab has seen over a dozen incidents of alleged desecration of religious books over the last one month. Violent protests were held over these incidents, leading to the death of two persons and injuries to others. (PTI)
Over 21 percent use tobacco in Himachal, says minister
Shimla: More than 21 percent of the adults in Himachal Pradesh use some form of tobacco. These include over 880,000 smokers, far higher than tobacco chewers, says state Health Minister Kaul Singh. The state has stepped up efforts to sustain the smoke-free status. Recently, it has banned the sale of single cigarettes and ‘bidi’, the minister said at a conference organised on tobacco control by Bloomberg in New York on Tuesday. The hill state has a population of about 6.8 million. Kaul Singh said the process of drafting a comprehensive legislation that conforms to the recommendation and provisions of Article 5.3 of Framework Convention on Tobacco Control is under way. Singh said the state was declared smoke-free in July 2013 and now efforts are being made to make it the first fully-compliant state to all provisions of tobacco control laws. Quoting the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (2009-10), the minister said the state has the highest age of initiation (nearly 21 years). (IANS)
Radical Sikh leaders arrested ahead of likely showdown in Punjab
Amritsar: Radical Sikh leaders from in and around Amritsar in Punjab were arrested to prevent a religious showdown at the Golden Temple complex on Wednesday, police sources said. Mokham Singh, separatist leader and former IPS officer Simranjit Singh Mann and Amrik Singh Ajnala were arrested late Tuesday, the sources said on Wednesday. While Mokham Singh and Mann were taken to a police station here, Ajnala was put under house arrest. The arrests came within hours of a ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ (grand assembly of Sikhs) congregation at Chaba near Amritsar on Tuesday in which controversial decisions, including the sacking of jathedars (chiefs) of three takhts (temporal seats) of Sikh religion, were taken and convicted Khalistani terrorist Jagtar Singh Hawara was named as the Akal Takht chief. “The Punjab Police arrested the top radical leaders to prevent any untoward situation at the Golden Temple complex and other gurdwaras as the newly announced heads of the takhts would have tried to take over,” a senior Punjab Police officer told IANS. (IANS)
Artefacts stolen from Himachal CM’s palace recovered
Shimla: The artefacts stolen last month from Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh’s ancestral palace in Sarahan in Shimla district have been recovered, police said on Wednesday. Five suspects were rounded up early Wednesday and the stolen artefacts recovered, Additional Director General of Police Sanjay Kundu told IANS. He said more articles have been recovered as compared to what were reported stolen by the palace staff. The Shanti Kunj palace of the chief minister at Sarahan, 170 km from here, was burgled on October 23. The stolen articles include one silver table lamp of one kg, four silver flower pots each weighing about 250 gm and one silver temple, police said. (IANS)
