India

Muzaffarnagar, Mar 13 (PTI) A man, who witnessed the killing of his two brothers during the Muzaffarnagar riots, was shot dead at Khatoli here, police said Wednesday.

The communal clashes in Muzaffarnagar and its adjoining areas in August and September 2013 had claimed more than 60 lives while over 40,000 people were displaced.

Chennai, Mar 13 (PTI) You can't have a negative, fearful atmosphere in the country and expect economic growth, which is directly related to the mood of the country, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday.

Addressing women students at the Stella Maris College here, he said the Congress will change the mood of the country and make people feel happy and empowered.

Gurgaon, Mar 12 (PTI) The Gurgaon police Tuesday arrested two persons for allegedly molesting a woman in Manesar, a police officer said.

Rajesh Kumar (24) and Inderjeet (28) were arrested from Manesar area. They had on Monday allegedly molested the woman, he said.

Phulbani, Mar 13 (PTI) A woman Maoist was killed in an encounter with security forces in a forest in Odisha's Kandhamal district on Wednesday, police said.

The gun battle took place after Special Operations Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force (DVF) personnel launched a joint operation in Sirla forest following a tip-off, Kandhamal, Superintendent of Police, Prateek Singh told reporters here.

Amritsar, Mar 13 (PTI) Russian Army General and current Commander-in-Chief of Ground Forces Oleg Salyukov visited the Golden Temple here on Wednesday.

Before entering the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, Salyukov walked bare foot on the marbled periphery around the pond (pool of nectar) accompanied by senior SGPC officials, including Chief Secretary Roop Singh who briefed the general about the history of Sikhism.

Mandla (MP), Mar 13 (PTI) BJP MP Sampatiya Uike's 21-year-old son and two others have been arrested here for allegedly possessing smack, police said on Wednesday.

Raja Uike, son of the Rajya Sabha member, was arrested along with Abhishek Lakda (22) and Shahrukh Khan (26) on Tuesday night at Devdara locality in the city, he added.

Lucknow, Mar 13 (PTI) In a clear snub to BSP supremo Mayawati who slammed the door on the Congress for any electoral alliance, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday paid a visit to Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad in a hospital in Meerut.

The unscheduled visit is being seen in political circles as an attempt to woo the Dalits in Uttar Pradesh and pit Azad against the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Bengaluru, Mar 13 (PTI) The Congress will contest 20 seats and JDS eight in the Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka under a deal finalised by the two ruling coalition partners Wednesday, the JDS said.

The seat sharing was hammered out at a meeting betweenCongress president Rahul Gandhi and JD(S) secretary generalDanish Ali at Kochi in Kerala this evening, party sources said.

KANPUR: A six-member delegation from Nigeria Sugar Institute has sought technical consultancy from National Sugar Institute, Kanpur to begin a short-duration training programme for its technicians to set up sugar academy in Nigeria. The team is on a visit to this city.

Twenty-five litigants in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute case along with their counsels appeared on Wednesday before a Supreme Court-appointed mediation panel, in Faizabad, officials said.

According to a report in The Hindu, the district administration of Faizabad issued notice to 25 litigants on behalf of the Supreme Court-appointed panel.