Indian Sub-continent

New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) Two African nationals were arrested for allegedly smuggling cocaine, police said Wednesday.

The accused were identified as Tine Mustafa (29) and Innocent Aghadiobi (40), both residing at Tilak Nagar, they said.

Lucknow, May 1 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Wednesday paid homage to those who died in the Naxal attack in Maharashtra and said that the sacrifice of the 15 police personnel will be avenged by killing atleast 100 Naxals.

"This is a battle of the entire country and 130 crore countrymen are with our brave jawans," he said in an election rally in the state.

Sukma, May 1 (PTI) Six Naxals, four of them carrying rewards on their heads, were arrested Wednesday in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, police said.

They were held near Kindrelpad village under Konta police station limits when a team of district police force was out on a search operation, an official said.

The team had launched the operation from Konta and was proceeding towards interior forests. Near Kindrelapad, 500 km from Raipur, they spotted a group of suspected Naxals.

Muzaffarnagar (UP), May 2 (PTI) The Muzaffarnagar district administration in Uttar Pradesh's has carried out a surprise inspection at government hospitals and health centres, and found over 200 staff absent, an official said Thursday.

Acting on a complaint, a team led by sub-divisional magistrates and senior officers conducted the drive on Wednesday. As many as 202 officials, including 23 doctors and 21 nurses, were found absent, District Magistrate Ajay Shanker Pandey told PTI.

Ahmedabad, May 2 (PTI) A special CBI court here Thursday discharged former police officers D G Vanzara and N K Amin in the Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case.

Vanzara and Amin had filed discharge applications in the court after the Gujarat government refused to grant sanctions to the CBI to prosecute the two former police officers.

Special CBI court judge J K Pandya said that since the government has not sanctioned their prosecution, their discharge pleas are allowed and proceedings against them will be dropped in the case.

New Delhi, May 2 (PTI) The office of country's first Lokpal, the anti-corruption ombudsman, will move out of a five-star luxury hotel in Delhi to its own permanent address.

At present, the office of Lokpal works from 'The Ashok' hotel in Chanakyapuri here.

"The government is in the process of searching a permanent office for Lokpal," the personnel ministry replied to an RTI application filed by this PTI journalist.

Rae Bareli (UP), May 2 (PTI) Far from the rough and tumble of hectic electioneering, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday met snake charmers in Raebareli constituency of Uttar Pradesh and boldly held a reptile, saying "it's fine".

Photojournalists covering Vadra's election campaign caught the rare sight on camera as she halted at Kuchariya village in an obscure nook on her way to Belavela, another village in the constituency, represented by her mother, Sonia Gandhi.

Mumbai, May 1 (PTI) At least 16 persons, including 15 security personnel, were killed in an IED blast triggered by Naxals in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district Wednesday, police said

The blast followed Naxals torching 25 vehicles belonging to a road construction contractor earlier in the day, police said

Those killed were members of the Quick Response Team (QRT) of Gadchiroli police, which was on way to inspect the torched vehicles, an official said.

The blast took place as the vehicle reached Lendhari nallah in Kurkheda area, the official said

KANPUR: What has been immensely appreciated by the district election officer/ district magistrate V V Pant is hundred percent voting at city's one polling booth. The voters numbered 1119 who cast their votes. None of them was absent on April 29. A record has been established by the voters' enthusiasm. No other polling booth has seen this marvellous act.

Ex-BSF Tej Bahadur Yadav’s, who filed his nomination against Narendra Modi for Varansi LS seat, got his nomination rejected by the Election Commission.

According to India Today, Tej Bahadur had filed nomination as an Independent but was later named by the Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance as the candidate from the seat, and was supported by Arvind Kejriwal of AAP, who had taken on PM Modi in 2014 and got more than 2 lakh votes.