Briefly nation

Vidhya Chaudhary,the Women and Social Welfare minister of Uttar Pradesh,was handed over to Indian authorities along with her security guards,on Saturday....

Nepal hands over UP Minister

KATHMANDU: Vidhya Chaudhary,the Women and Social Welfare minister of Uttar Pradesh,was handed over to Indian authorities along with her security guards,on Saturday. The Nepali police intercepted Chaudharys car as her security guards were found in possesion of arms without informing the Nepalis authorities. She was detained for about three hours by the Nepalese police.

23 sentenced to life imprisonment

AURANGABAD/ARA: Altogether 23 persons were sentenced to life imprisonment by courts in Bihars Aurangabad and Bhojpur districts on Saturday in two separate cases of murder. Additional District and Sessions judge Jagdish Prasad found 14 persons guilty of killing a farmer,Haridwar Singh,at Ibrahimpur in Aurangabad district on October 23,1984,following a land dispute. In Bhojpur district,Additional District Judge Ujjwal Kumar Dubey convicted nine persons for killing a villager Yogendra Pandey at Kanauli village and sentenced them to life.

Five killed by Maoists in Bihar

Sheohar: Maoists raided a village in Bihars Sheohar district and shot dead five persons on Friday night. Around 150 armed Maoists raided Ramban Bazaar and shot dead the villagers and burnt 15 shops,DIG Tirhut Pankaj Darad said. The victims were identified as Sribhagwan Rai,Siyaram Rao,Mukesh Rai,Manohar Thakur and Rameshwar Thakur.

25 kg RDX seized in Kishtwar

JAMMU: An arms cache,including 25 kg of RDX and two improvised explosive devices,was seized by security forces from a militant hideout in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday. On a tip-off,Rashtriya Rifle RR troops assisted by police launched a search operation and smashed a militant hideout in Dachan area,about 270 kms from here,police said.

90-year-old dies in communal clash

JODHPUR: A 90-year-old man was killed,eight were injured and several shops torched in a communal flare up at Baleswar in Rajasthans Jodhpur district on Saturday. Police resorted to cane-charge and fired in the air to disperse warring groups as tension ran high at Baleswar,some 70-km from here.

Minister escorts convoy on NH-53

IMPHAL: Manipur8217;s Consumer Affairs and Food and Public Distribution Minister Yumkham Erabot,on Saturday defied the indefinite economic blockade by Naga students on the NH-53 by escorting 290 trucks and tankers loaded with essential supplies to Imphal. The passage of the convoy was facilitated by central security forces,including BSF and CRPF,and police,official sources said.