Maoists torch bus in Odisha, passengers unharmed
Malkangiri: Armed Maoists set fire to a private bus after asking the passengers to alight at Mundaguda village in Odisha’s Malkangiri district, police said on Tuesday. About 20 to 30 Maoists intercepted the bus at the village under Mathili police limits late on Monday night, and set it ablaze for plying during a strike called by the banned CPI (Maoist), they said. The Naxals also beat up the driver of the bus, but did not harm the passengers and their belongings, a police officer said. The outlawed outfit has called a ‘Bharat Bandh’ from January 25 to January 31, and in posters, called on people to support it. Besides, they have also demanded withdrawal of BSF camps from remote areas of Malkangiri district. Malkangiri SP Jagmohan Meena said the bus incident could be the handiwork of Maoists from Bastar Division of neighbouring Chhattisgarh. Meena said a joint combing operation by the District Voluntary Force (DVF) and the BSF personnel has been launched in the area. Meanwhile, Malkangiri Private Bus Owners Association president Bhakta Rout said they were operating in the tribal-dominated area, even as state-owned buses remained off the roads in view of the bandh. Rout, however, said they have to now reconsider whether to operate buses in Maoist-hit areas. (PTI)
Five PLFI ultras killed, two injured in Khunti
Ranchi: At least five ultras of the banned Peoples Liberation Front of India (PLFI) were killed and two others injured in an encounter with security forces Tuesday in neighbouring Khunti district, a senior police officer said. The PLFI is a splinter group of the CPI (Maoist). “According to primary information, five ultras of the PLFI outfit were killed and two others injured. The injured have been shifted to a hospital,” Inspector General of Police (Operation) Ashish Batra said here. There was no injury to the troops, he said. The encounter with the ultras broke out early at around 6:30 am at a place under the Murhu police station in Khunti district. The security forces comprised a 60 personnel team of CRPFs 209 Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), SAP jawans and Khunti district police, another police officer said. Officials said amongst the killed PLFI Maoists is area commander Prabhu Sahay Bodra, who was wanted by the forces and was carrying a reward of Rs two lakh on his head. The IGP (Operation) said two AK 47 rifles, two .315 rifles, one 9 mm pistol, four pistols, 264 bullet rounds and explosives were recovered from the encounter spot. Batra said a second encounter broke out Tuesday when security forces rushed to a spot in Latehar districts Kumandi area after getting information that a Maoist squad was present there. “Follow-up action is on and we expect to get success in that encounter too,” the IGP (Operation) said, adding that continuous efforts are on and operations are launched wherever information is being received about the presence of Naxalites so that they can be rooted out. (PTI)
New DTH tariff regime will begin from Feb 1, says TRAI
New Delhi: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman RS Sharma on Tuesday said the February 1 deadline for new direct-to-home (DTH) tariff regime will not be extended. “Consumers can choose monthly bill according to their choice. The new DTH tariff regime will start from February 1,” he said. “All DTH operators and multi-system operators have prepared a system to connect with consumers and accept their choices,” said Sharma. “About 70 per cent of consumers of some DTH operators have migrated to the new tariff regime,” he added. Furthermore, all operators have opened call centres to address the grievances of consumers. The TRAI’s call centre is also operational for addressing grievances, he said. For regulation of over-the-top (OTT) services like Whatsapp and Facebook, the TRAI has come up with a consultation paper. Telecom service providers say there is a regulatory imbalance between OTT providers and telecom service providers on same services. A decision on this will be taken by the end of February, Sharma added. (ANI)
Central assistance of Rs 7,214 cr to states for natural disasters
New Delhi: A high-level committee chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday approved additional central assistance of Rs 7214.03 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for six states and one Union Territory. Himachal Pradesh got Rs 317.44 crore for floods and landslides, Uttar Pradesh Rs 191.73 crore for floods, Andhra Pradesh Rs 900.4 crore for drought, Gujarat Rs 127.6 crore for drought, Karnataka Rs 949.49 crore for drought, Maharashtra Rs 4,714.28 crore for drought and Puducherry Rs. 13.09 crore for cyclone. The meeting was held here today to consider the additional Central Assistance to these six States and one UT, which were affected by floods, landslides, cloudburst and cyclone Gaja and drought (kharif) during 2018-19. Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and senior officers of the Ministries of Home Affairs, Finance, Agriculture and NITI Aayog were present in the meeting. (ANI)
Will withdraw support if reservation demand not met: SBSP
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ally Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief Om Prakash Rajbhar on Tuesday showed disagreement with the Centre’s recent decision on giving 10 per cent reservation to economically weak section of general category in education and jobs. While speaking to ANI, Rajbhar gave an ultimatum to the government till February 24 to make amendments in its decision, failing which his political party will withdraw its support to BJP in Uttar Pradesh. “There are poor in every category, what about them? When will they (BJP) implement report on a division of reservation to backward classes? Will wait for the BJP to do the work till February 24 if they fail to do so, we will give divorce to the BJP,” he said. A few weeks ago, Samajwadi Party chief Mayawati too stated that the reservation should also be extended to the poor, who belong to the various minority religious groups. “Reservation to the poor, tribals, Dalits should not be confined to the education sector or jobs but also other sectors in which till now it has not been introduced,” she added. Mayawati also demanded that the Centre should chalk out a new reservation policy for the backwards. (ANI)