Police injured ISF protesters in Kolkata
Kolkata, Jan 21: Indian Secular Front (ISF) activists fought a pitched battle with the police at Esplanade area in central Kolkata on Saturday during a protest against alleged attacks on their workers by the ruling Trinamool Congress in South 24 Parganas district. The demonstration threw the traffic out of gear around the key Jawarharlal Nehru Road crossing. The sole ISF MLA Naushad Siddique, who was leading the protest, was detained, as a number of police personnel and agitators were injured. A senior police official said the activists blocked an arterial road in the heart of the city, prompting the cops to request them to clear Jawaharlal Nehru Road and allow traffic movement. (PTI)
Twin blasts leave nine hurt in Jammu
Jammu, Jan 21: Just two days before Congress leader Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra is scheduled to reach Jammu, two back-to-back explosions rocked a busy locality on the outskirts of the city on Saturday, leaving nine people injured, officials said.Police suspect that IEDs were used to carry out the twin explosions in an SUV parked in a repair shop and in a vehicle at a nearby junkyard at Transport Nagar area of Narwal. Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha strongly condemned the incident and called for urgent steps to take action against those responsible. (PTI)
Indian intranasal COVID vax to be launched
Bhopal, Jan 21: Homegrown vaccine maker Bharat Biotech will launch its intranasal COVID-19 vaccine iNCOVACC, the first of its kind in India, on January 26, the company’s chairman and managing director Krishna Ella said here on Saturday. Interacting with students at the India International Science Festival in Bhopal, Ella also said that the homegrown vaccine for the lumpy skin disease in cattle, Lumpi-ProVacInd, is likely to be launched next month. In December, Bharat Biotech had announced that it would sell the intranasal vaccine for Rs 325 per shot for procurement by the government and Rs 800 per shot for private vaccination centres. (PTI)