Briefly Nation

Manas reserve’s official injured

GUWAHATI: A forest official was seriously injured in accidental firing on Wednesday inside the Manas tiger reserve in Lower Assam. The reserve’s deputy ranger Fakhruddin Ahmed was injured when a bullet from the service rifle of a forest guard hit his neck at the Basbari range office.

Bail plea of Haldiram owner rejected

KOLKATA: The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday rejected a bail plea of the owner of Haldiram Bhujiawala,Prabhu Shankar Agarwal,who has been sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiring and attempting to kill a tea stall owner. A Division Bench presided by Justice D P Sengupta rejected the bail prayer of Agarwal,who was sentenced to life by a city Sessions court on January 29 along with four others.

Tripura: New police stations near tracks

AGARTALA: The Tripura government has said it would set up five police stations and seven outposts to provide security to rail passengers in areas near tracks. “Though it is the responsibility of the Railway Ministry to provide safety and security to the passengers,due to inadequate forces,the state government has decided to set up five police stations and seven outposts,” Chief Minister Manik Sarkar informed the Assembly on Tuesday.

Nurse drugs elderly woman; takes cash

KOCHI: A nurse,who looked after an 83-year-old ailing woman living alone in Kottayam district near here,allegedly used to drug her with sleeping pills for nearly two years and looted cash and gold ornaments of about Rs 75 lakh over the period,police said on Wednesday. A case had been registered on a complaint from the woman,Rachel Rhodstrom,on February 24 and a probe into the matter is on.

Former IGP gets extortion demand

SHILLONG: Petrol depot owners,including a former Inspector General of Police,have been getting extortion demands of Rs 30 lakh each by a militant group in Meghalaya. The police said Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) served the extortion notes to a number of petrol pump owners in South and East Garo Hills districts over the past few days.

Priest ‘rapes,kills’ minor

KANPUR: Temple priest Narendra alias Kallu,25,allegedly raped and later strangulated to death a seven-year-old girl at Shivrajpur area in Knapur Tuesday night,police said on Wednesday. He reportedly took the minor girl from her home on the pretext of giving her ‘prasad’ and raped and killed her.”Prima facie it appears the girl was strangulated to death after being raped,” SP Lal Bahadur said.

Ammo explodes,3 children killed

SHIMLA: Schoolchildren Sahil,Rahul and Chandan,all between 10 and 12 years old,were killed when abandoned ammunition near an Army firing range at Mataur in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district exploded Tuesday evening,police said on Wednesday. The children were reportedly trying to remove scrap from live mortar shells. Two of the victims were brothers,police said.

Mother of arson accused kills self

SIRSA (HARYANA): Savitri Devi,mother of Jagdish,who was arrested on February 27 for alleged arson in the wake of the violence following registration of a fresh case against Dera Sacha Saudha chief Guru Ram Raheem Singh,committed suicide Tuesday night,police said Wednesday. Devi had claimed that her son was falsely implicated by police.

Hearing on Rathore’s plea next month

CHANDIGARH: Additional District and Session Judge Raj Shekhar Attri Wednesday adjourned till April 15 the hearing on the appeal of ex-Haryana DGP SP S Rathore against his six-month sentence in the Ruchika molestation case after Rathore informed him that his lawyer was yet to recover from injuries sustained during an assault on him last month. Utsav Sharma stabbed Rathore thrice in the face with a pocket knife outside the district court on February 8. His counsel N D Sharma was also injured in the attack.

Principal arrested for opening fire

LUCKNOW: Raj Kumar Yadav,Principal of Ram Dulary Higher Secondary School in Shyam Nagar Nadona village in UP’s Shrawasti district was Wednesday arrested for firing from his licenced revolver “to intimidate students”,police said. Yadav was screening students sitting for exams when he slapped one of them. As other students protested,Yadav allegedly fired in the air to intimidate them,police said.