Quicktakes

Devi Lal indicted

NEW DELHI: A Delhi Court today indicted former Deputy Premier Devi Lal for taking with him alleged hawala dealer S K Jain to Norway in an official delegation in 1991, even as he was discharged in the main hawala case. Directing Devi Lal to pay up the entire cost of Jain’s air fare, hotel bills and other expenses on his visit to Norway for the funeral of its late king, SpecialJudge V B Gupta said inclusion of Jain in the official delegation was an act of "gross abuse of official position" by the former Deputy Prime Minister.

TMC-BJP gain

CALCUTTA: The Trinamool Congress-BJP combine today made inroads into rural West Bengal capturing a sizebale number of Gram Panchayat seats pushing Congress in the third position even as the ruling Left Front maintained its two-decade-old supremacy bagging more than half of the 27,974 seats, results of which were available so far tonight. The Trinamool Congress captured 5,618 seats and its electoral ally BJP bagged 2,151 seats.

MLA in custody

SILCHAR: The ruling Asom Gana Parishad legislator Anowar Hossain Laskar, arrested for alleged rowdy behaviour, was today remanded to 15 days judicial custody by the Cachar Chief judicial magistrate S C Sharma. Laskar was arrested last night on the charges of rowdy behaviour and instigating unlawful assembly at a State Government office in November last. Laskar, representing Sonaiconstituency in Barak valley, was picked up from his Madhurbond road residence at Silchar last night under sections 341, 147, 320 and 353 of the IPC.