India

Ambala, Feb 16; PTI/GANASHAKTI:  A village panchayat here has asked villagers to evict Kashmiri students living in rented accommodation within 24 hours in the wake of the Pulwama terror attack, according to a video that has surfaced on social media.

Half a dozen Kashmiri students have been shifted to the hostel of the MM University after the purported video appeared.

In the video, Mulana village sarpanch Naresh Rana could be heard asking villagers to evict Kashmiri tenants.

Srinagar, Feb 16; PTI/GANASHAKTI: CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami Saturday called for a meaningful and credible dialogue process for addressing the "legitimate concerns" of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Tarigami, a former MLA from Kulgam constituency of south Kashmir, said the attack on a CRPF convoy at Lethpora in Pulwama on Thursday has shaken all those who are concerned about human lives and peace in the region.

Jajpur (Odisha), Feb 16 (PTI) A local court here has sentenced a man and three members of his family to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife over dowry within five months of the wedding in 2014.

Additional District Judge Prasanta Kumar Nayak awarded life sentence to Akhaya Kumar Pal, his father Laxmidhar Pal, mother Subhadra Pal and sister Priyatama Pal on Friday.

Muzaffarpur (Bihar), Feb 16 (PTI) A court here has directed the CBI to conduct an inquiry against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and two senior bureaucrats in connection with the Muzaffarpur shelter home sex scandal.

The special POCSO court here passed the order on Friday on an application filed by an accused, Ashwani, a self-styled medical practitioner who allegedly used to inject the home's inmates with sedatives before they were subjected to sexual abuse.

Jammu, Feb 16 (PTI) An Army officer was killed and a soldier suffered injuries in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, officials said.

The IED was apparently planted by "enemy forces within Indian territory" in Nowshera sector and set off when an Army officer, along with his men, was patrolling the area, they said.

Jagdalpur (Chhattisgarh), Feb 16 (PTI) Congress president Rahul Gandhi Saturday hit out at the Modi government, saying that while it waived loans worth Rs 3.5 lakh crore of select industrialists such as Anil Ambani and Vijay Mallya, it promised just Rs 3.50 per day to farmers.

Gandhi was speaking at a convention of tribals at Dhuragaon village in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh.

Kolkata, Feb 16 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday led a candle light march to protest the Pulwama attack and said the country stands by its brave jawans.

The march was held from Hazra crossing in south Kolkata to Mahatma Gandhi's statue in the Mayo Road area.

Jammu, Feb 16 (PTI) A soldier was injured after Pakistani troops fired from small arms on forward posts along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Saturday officials said.

The unprovoked firing from across the border started in the Naushera sector around 1600 hours, prompting strong retaliation by Indian troops, they said.

New Delhi, Feb 16 (PTI) Taking strong economic action against Pakistan following the Pulwama terror attack, India Saturday raised the customs duty to 200 per cent on all goods imported from the neighbouring country, including fresh fruits, cement, petroleum products and mineral ore.

The decision would significantly hit Pakistan's exports to India, which stood at USD 488.5 million (around Rs 3,482.3 crore) in 2017-18 as it would drastically increase the prices of its goods here.

New Delhi, February 15; GANASHAKTI: The Kashmir Police on February 8 had sent an intelligence input to the CRPF, BSF, ITBP, SSB, Army and the Air Force warning of a possible IED attack, according to a letter written by the state police Inspector General.

It is not known why despite the early warning, the CRPF allowed its 78-vehicle convoy carrying 2,547 security personnel to go from the transit camp in Jammu to Srinagar -- a 270-km stretch.