Briefly nation

Five members of a family,including a woman and four children,drowned in a canal near Sonepat,Haryana,on Saturday.

7 of family attempt suicide,five dead

CHANDIGARH: Five members of a family,including a woman and four children,drowned in a canal near Sonepat,Haryana,on Saturday. Their bodies were fished out on Sunday,the police said. Two women of the family along with their five kids had attempted suicide by jumping into the Delhi branch parallel canal near Rohat village. A woman and a child were saved by passers-by. The victims belonged to Jasorkheri village.

Panchayat member,kin shot dead in MP

CHHATARPUR: A district panchayat member and his brother in-law were shot dead over political rivalry at village Nathpur near here,the police said on Sunday. Mahendra Patel and his brother-in-law Gopal Patel were returning home on a motorbike on Saturday night when they were shot dead allegedly by one Dayaram Patel and his men. An old enmity over panchayat polls between Mahendra and Dayaram might have led to the killings,Area Sub Divisional Officer of Police Mahendra Sikarwar said,adding 13 persons had been arrested in this connection.

Anand police book nine for gangrape

VADODARA: A young widow from Dahisar near Mumbai,who was promised a job,was allegedly raped by nine persons in a farm house near Anand town on April 27 night. The matter reached the police after the victim approached Anand town police late on Saturday. The accused have been identified as Laxman Marwadi,Sanjay Parmar,Honda,Urvish,Bipin,Natu,Kirit Patel,Arun and Prakash. They have been booked under sections 376,324 and 506 2 of the IPC.

Debt-ridden farmer,weaver end lives

KARIMNAGAR AP: In two separate incidents,a farmer and a weaver committed suicide in the state on Sunday to tide over their financial woes,the police said. Neelam Yadagiri 28,a resident of Advai Padira village,80 km from here,committed suicide by hanging self at his house after he incurred losses in paddy crop due to water scarcity and untimely rain. Handloom weaver Lonka Balaiah 55 of Siddipet in Medak district committed suicide by hanging self to a tree at Tangallapalli village,nearly 50 km from here. He too was debt ridden and was unable to repay the loans.

Chaiyya Chaiyya train back on track

COIMBATORE: After a gap of five months,the Nilgiri Mountain Railway train,a big hit with tourists,resumed its operations to the famous hill resort town of Udhagamandalam Ooty in Tamil Nadu on Sunday. The train services between Mettupalayam in the plains and Ooty remained suspended after the nearly 47-km long track traversing through the picturesque valleys and hills suffered extensive damage due to heavy monsoon rains and landslides in the first week of November last year. ENS amp; PTI