India

New Delhi, Mar 22 (PTI) The Yasin Malik-led Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) was banned on Friday for "promoting" secession of the militancy-hit state from the Union of India, officials said here.

Banning the outfit under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act after a high-level meeting on security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, officials said the Centre is of the opinion that the JKLF is "in close touch with militant outfits" and is supporting extremism and militancy in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere.

Members of a Muslim family in Gurgaon’s Dhamaspur village and guests were beaten with sticks and rods, allegedly by 20-25 men, who barged into their home and attacked them on Holi evening.

Incident happened after some of the accused approached the boys from the family, who were playing cricket outside. They harassed the boys  and told them to “go to Pakistan and play” there.

Two Kashmiri separatists were killed by Indian security forces in what has been alleged as a fierce gunfight in restive India-controlled Kashmir, police said on Friday. Three Indian security forces’ personnel were also injured.

The gunfight broke out Thursday morning at village Kalantara Kandi in Baramulla district, about 47 km west of Srinagar city, the summer capital of India-controlled Kashmir.

NEW DELHI, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Unidentified gunmen shot and injured a lawmaker of main ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, local media reported on Thursday.

Yogesh Verma, a BJP member of Uttar Pradesh legislative Assembly who represents the Lakhimpur assembly constituency, was shot at while he was on his way back to his residence after celebrating the festival of colors "Holi" at his office in Patel Nagar area of the city.

Madurai, Mar 21 (PTI) The Madras High Court Thursday convicted nine people to life imprisonment in a case related to the attack on the office of Tamil daily 'Dinakaran' here in 2007 in which three men were killed.

Gopinath, Vinoth and Muthuramalingam were killed in the attack on May 5, 2007.

On December 9, 2009, all the 17 people arrested in the case were acquitted of murder charges by a CBI special court.

Later, the CBI, which investigated the case, and Vinoth's mother filed an appeal.

New Delhi, Mar 21 (PTI) A day after a special court acquitted Swami Aseemanand and three others in the Samjhauta Express blast case, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal Thursday sarcastically said with a verdict that "no one knows" who killed 68 people, it must be a "proud day" for the criminal justice system.

Twelve years after a blast on the Samjhauta Express killed 68 people, mostly Pakistanis, a special court in Panchkula acquitted Swami Aseemanand and three others in the case.

Hyderabad, Mar 21 (PTI) The government should appeal against Swami Aseemanand's acquittal in the Samjhauta blast case if Prime Minister Narendra Modi was really the "chowkidar" of the country, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has said.

Attacking Modi's "main bhi chowkidar" (I too a watchman) campaign, Owaisi at an election rally late last night said, "What kind of a chowkidar are you? 25 Indians are also among the dead in that (Samjhauta blast). Bomb blast is a terrorist offence. How are you a chowkidar?"

Aizawl, Mar 21 (PTI) Mizoram assembly has passed a bill to bring back total prohibition of liquor in the northeastern state after four years.

The state government decided to prohibit manufacture, import, sale and consumption of liquor for the common people for their general health and help in law enforcement, Excise and Narcotics Minister Dr K Beichhua said while introducing the bill.

Cutting across party lines, all the legislators supported the Mizoram Liquor (Prohibition) Bill, 2019 and it was passed Wednesday.

Etawah, Mar 21 (PTI) Senior Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav Thursday alleged that the Pulwama terror attack was a "conspiracy" to garner votes, drawing sharp reaction from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Yadav, a general secretary in the Samajwadi Party (SP), also said once there is a change at the Centre, investigations will be conducted into the incident and claimed that prominent people will come under the scanner of the probe.

Mumbai, Mar 21 (PTI) Days after a school teacher was killed by the Naxals in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, the rebels have issued a letter calling it a mistake, the police claimed Thursday.

Yogendra Meshram was killed because he was suspected to be a policeman but he was "innocent", the purported letter said.

Meshram, teacher at a municipal school at Korchi, was shot dead by Naxals at Kombda Bajar on March 12.