Indian Sub-continent

NEW DELHI, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- Sixty-two Naxals surrendered to police on Tuesday in central Indian state of Chattisgarh, officials said.

The Naxals surrendered in Narayanpur district, about 223 km south of Raipur, the capital city of Chhattisgarh.

"Today 62 Naxals have shunned the path of violence and laid down arms by surrendering to police here," a police official said. "The top officials of the police were present during the function when these Naxals submitted themselves to the law."

Of the 62 Naxals, majority of them laid down their arms.

Bhubaneswar, Nov 6 (PTI) Congress MLA Krishna Chandra Sagaria on Tuesday resigned as member of the Odisha Assembly, protesting "injustice" meted out to an alleged gangrape victim of Koraput district, who committed suicide earlier this year.

A 14-year-old girl in Kunduli area of Koraput district had alleged that she was gangraped by four men in uniform in October, last year. The police, however, ruled out rape, citing her medical reports.

The girl subsequently committed suicide by hanging on January 22, triggering sharp reactions from many quarters.

Hyderabad, Nov 6 (PTI) A 25-year-old woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by three people in a house here following which they were arrested, police said Tuesday.

Under the pretext of offering some work, a man identified as Jaipal met the woman near a toddy shop Saturday night and took her to his house where she was allegedly gang-raped by him and two of his friends, they said.

Later, she lodged a complaint based on which a case of gangrape was registered and the trio was arrested Monday, they added.

Bijnor (UP), Nov 6 (PTI) A 60-year-old man was killed allegedly by his son in Seohara village here following a argument over the former's drinking habits, police said Tuesday.

Deceased Yashpal had an altercation with his son, Rahul (37), on Monday after the latter tried to stop him from consuming alcohol, they said, adding that as the argument got heated, the son hit with a spade.

Yashpal was killed on the spot, officials said.

The accused fled from the scene after the incident and the matter is being investigated, they added.

Bengaluru, Nov 6 (PTI) Karnataka's ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition was ahead of the BJP in two of the three Lok Sabha seats and both the assembly constituencies that went to the bypolls last weekend, electoral officials said Tuesday

The BJP was leading only in the Shivamogga parliamentary constituency, where its state party chief B S Yeddyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra was ahead of former chief minister S Bangarappa's son Madhu Bangarappa of JD(S) by 36,351 votes

New Delhi, Nov 5 (PTI) Tourists, including foreigners, visiting Delhi ahead of Diwali on Monday complained of having a tough time due to increasing air pollution as a thick haze engulfed the city, with some even cutting short their trips citing health concerns.

Some of them said pollution masks were proving ineffective as the air quality has turned "severe", forcing them to visit hospitals to seek treatment for breathlessness, allergy and irritation.

Emily, from Amsterdam, said she was cutting short her visit to Delhi due to the deteriorating air quality.

Mumbai, Nov 5 (PTI) Former Planning Commission member and Congress leader Bhalchandra Mungekar Monday accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP, of stoking the Ram temple issue with an eye on elections.

He alleged that a "pre-Babri mosque atmosphere" is sought to be created in the country.

He also accused Narendra Modi government of "systematically dismantling" the democratic institutions including the Supreme Court and the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation).

Kolkata, Nov 5 (PTI) The West Bengal Congress on Monday said "divisive politics" of the BJP-RSS combine was responsible for the killing of five Bengali-speaking people in Assam.

The Congress party never supports the "narrow politics" of provincialism, communalism and racism, West Bengal Congress president Somen Mitra said.

"The BJP government has been shamelessly endorsing the indiscriminate division of religion, language and caste throughout the country. The same situation happened in Gujarat a few days ago," he said.

Hyderabad, Nov 5 (PTI) Congress and other parties of the proposed "grand alliance" for December 7 Assembly elections in Telangana held talks Monday on seat-sharing amid demands from the CPI and TJS for an appropriate share.

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president N Uttam Kumar Reddy and leaders of other parties held talks and the talks would continue, party sources said.

Reddy told reporters that he would go to Delhi tomorrow as part of his party's consultation process on finalising the candidates.

Muzaffarnagar, Nov 6 (PTI) A 55-year-old farmer allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison, with his family claiming that he was under stress due to debt burden in the district, police said.

According to Subdivisional Magistrate Inder Kant Dwivedi, an inquiry has been ordered into the incident that took place Monday.

His body has been sent for post-mortem, he said, adding that an investigation is underway.