India

Patna, Apr 16 (PTI) Campaign ended on Tuesday for five Lok Sabha seats in Bihar where polling will be held on April 18 in the second phase of general elections.

The five Lok Sabha constituencies are Bhagalpur, Banka, Katihar, Kishanganj and Purnea.

The BJP had fought these five seats unsuccessfully in 2014 and this time its ally JD(U) of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is contesting from those constituencies.

Ahmedabad, Apr 16 (PTI) A special court here is likely to pass an order on April 29 on the applications of former police officers D G Vanzara and N K Amin seeking quashing of proceedings against them in the Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case.

The arguments by the lawyers of the two officers and advocate Vrinda Grover who appeared for Ishrat's mother Shamima Kauser concluded Tuesday before special judge for CBI cases J K Pandya.

Kauser has opposed the applications. The Gujarat government has denied sanction for the prosecution of Vanzara and Amin.

Lucknow Apr 16 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will visit the Ram Lalla temple in Ayodhya on Wednesday, amid the 72-hour ban on campaigning imposed on him by the Election Commission.

Adityanath visited the famous Hanuman Setu temple here and offered prayers Tuesday, a day after the poll panel barred him from electioneering for three days for likening the ongoing Lok Sabha polls to a contest between 'Ali' and 'Bajrang Bali'.

Patna, April 16 (PTI) An FIR was lodged against Congress leader and Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu for violating the model code of conduct by exhorting Muslim voters in a Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar to vote en bloc to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer here, the FIR was lodged at Barasoi police station of Katihar district on the basis of a complaint lodged by the Election Commission's flying squad.

SHO Barasoi Chandra Prakash confirmed this.

Pune, Apr 17 (PTI) Scientists have captured the deepest radio images of the Sun, an advance that may help reliably predict space weather and its possible effects on Earth.

The Sun is probably the most studied celestial object, but it still hosts mysteries that scientists have been trying to unravel for decades, for example, the origin of coronal mass ejections which can potentially affect the Earth.

Sulthan Bathery(Ker), Apr 17 (PTI) Congress chief Rahul Gandhi Wednesday reached out to the people of Wayanad, saying he did not want to make false promises,but was committed to resolving their issues after hearing their "heart and soul".

Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said he was not here to tell his 'Mann Ki Baat' but to understand the difficulties, including the night travel ban, man-animal conflicts and lack of medical facilities, being faced by the people here.

Ahmedabad/Bhopal/Jaipur, Apr 17 (PTI) Unseasonal rain, dust storm and lightning hit several parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat overnight, leaving 35 people dead and many others injured, officials said Wednesday.

Madhya Pradesh reported 15 casualties in rain-related incidents. 10 people each were killed in Gujarat and Rajasthan in the overnight rains.

Ahmedabad, Apr 17 (PTI) Unseasonal rain and dust storm hit several parts of Gujarat, leaving at least 10 people dead and several injured, officials said Wednesday.

Rain and dust storm were reported from areas including districts in North Gujarat and Saurashtra region, on Tuesday afternoon, they said.

"According to preliminary reports coming from different parts of the state, at least 10 people have lost their lives," G B Manglpara, the state government's director (Relief), told PTI on Wednesday.

Kanpur: Till the last year the traffic police used to rent its sturdy horses but this practice has now been stopped following an order of the department' higher authority during the ardh-Kumbh fair at Allahabad. In accordance with the new directives the horses would be brought into use for the traffic police. Complete curb on renting the horses were applied. 

In recent days two well-built horses namely Dhananjay & Rangeela were auctioned in Rs eighteen thousand. They served the traffic police department for as many as 25 long years. 

Mysore, Apr 16 (PTI) Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has alleged that the Election Commission(EC) is under "pressure" from the Modi government to not take action on complaints of political parties over alleged EVM tampering and their demand for re-introduction of ballot paper.

He said the electronic voting machines (EVMs) are not tamper-proof and Voter Verified Paper Trail (VVPATs) machines are not without their flaws either, he said adding that the Congress will bring back ballot paper if voted to power.