India

Jamshedpur, May 3; PTI/GANASHAKTI: A BJP office in Jharkhand's Seraikela-Kharswan district was partially damaged in an IED blast triggered by suspected Maoists on Friday, police said.

No one was injured in the blast, they said. Four armed men came to the party office at Kharswan early Friday morning and dragged out two/three persons sleeping inside the building before planting an IED, said Superintendent of Police, Chandan Kumar Sinha.

Asked whether Maoists were involved in the incident, the SP said the way blast was triggered indicates the involvement of the Maoists.

Ahmedabad, May 2 (PTI) Food and beverages giant PepsiCo India said Thursday it will withdraw the cases it has filed against potato farmers in Gujarat for allegedly growing a variety of the tuber for which the company claims Plant Variety Protection (PVP) rights.

PepsiCo in April sued a few farmers for cultivating a potato variety grown exclusively for its popular Lay's potato chips, leading to an outcry and protests.

New Delhi, May 2 (PTI) The Election Commission Thursday issued a show cause notice to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his "Babur ki aulad" remark.

The EC pointed out that while addressing a rally in Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh on April 19, Adityanath had said "would you hand over the reins of the country to terrorists, to those who call themselves children of Babur (Babur ki aulad)...to those who oppose Bajrangbali".

Mumbai, May 2 (PTI) A Mumbai court Thursday sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl in his neighbourhood.

The 42-year-old man was found guilty under IPC section 376 (rape) as well as under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act by special judge Bharti Kale.

Mumbai, May 2 (PTI) The Election Commission has asked the MNS to submit details of expenses incurred on its president Raj Thackeray's election rallies, an official said Thursday.

Though the MNS is not contesting the Lok Sabha elections, Thackeray held at least ten rallies in Maharashtra last month, attacking the BJP governments at the Centre and the state and asking people not to vote for the saffron party.

Gadchiroli, May 2 (PTI) Maharashtra Director General of Police Subodh Jaiswal Thursday denied that there was any intelligence input regarding the Naxal attack in Gadchiroli district in which 16 persons including 15 policemen were killed Wednesday.

He, however, admitted that there were some lapses in operational procedures which led to the tragedy.

To a question by reporters here, he said the IED blast that killed the policemen and a civilian driver could be the handiwork of Korchi and Kurkheda Dalams of the Naxals operating in the area.

Araria (Bihar), May 2 (PTI) A 44-year-old man was lynched to death in this district of Bihar over suspicion of cattle theft, police said Thursday.

The incident took place in Dak Haripur village falling under Robertsganj police station area, they said.

Mahesh Yadav was caught hold by locals who alleged that he was trying to steal cattle along with two associates. He was beaten to death, Shiv Sharan Sah, SHO, Robertsganj said.

Three unidentified Kashmiris have been killed by Indian security forces in an alleged encounter in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, an Indian Army spokesperson said.

An encounter broke out between Kashmiri separatist and the Indian security forces in the Imam Sahib area of Shopian following a cordon and search operation in the early hours, the Indian Army official alleged.

Ranchi, May 3 (PTI) BJP president Amit Shahs three election rallies in Jharkhand on Friday have been cancelled due to the cyclonic storm Fani which slammed the coast of neighbouring Odisha, a party leader said here.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das, Bihar Health Minister Mangal Pandey and Ajsu party president and former deputy chief minister Sudesh Mahto will address the rallies, BJP Jharkhand unit Spokesman Pradip Sinha said here.

NEW DELHI (AP) — Cyclone Fani has made landfall on India’s eastern coast as a grade 5 storm, lashing the emptied beaches with rain and wind gusting up to 205 kilometers (127 miles) per hour.

The India Meterological Department says the “extremely severe” cyclone in the Bay of Bengal hit the coastal state of Odisha around 8 a.m. on Friday.

India’s National Disaster Response Force says around 1.2 million people have been evacuated from low-lying areas of Odisha and moved to nearly 4,000 shelters.