Faizabad (UP), Oct 23 (PTI) The supporters of former Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Pravin Togadia clashed with the police Tuesday, breaking barricades at the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya while trying to enter the area.

After the clash, all roads to Ayodhya were blocked by the police. The police had to use force to disperse the mob, said officials. The roads were opened after the situation returned to normal.

Later in the day, Togadia announced plans to float a new political party, which will contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

RIYADH; GANASHAKTI  - Pakistan is seeking loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and friendly countries to reservice debt and shore up its economy, prime minister Imran Khan said on Tuesday.

“What we are hoping is that we do a bit of both, get a loan from IMF and other loans from friendly governments,” Khan told an audience at an investment conference in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh.

Islamabad has already asked the IMF to open negotiations for the country’s second potential bailout in five years.

New Delhi, Oct 23; PTI: The Supreme Court Tuesday permitted the sale and manufacture of low emission "green" firecrackers countrywide and fixed a two-hour time period from 8 pm to 10 pm for bursting them on Diwali and other festivals.

A bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan also restrained e-commerce websites like Flipkart and Amazon from selling firecrackers which were beyond the permissible limit.

The apex court's order came on a plea seeking a ban on manufacture and sale of firecrackers across the country to curb air pollution.

New Delhi, Oct 23; PTI: Referring to an internal feud in the CBI between its director and deputy director, CPI (M) leader Sitaram Yechury Tuesday alleged the BJP was damaging and destroying the country's institutions.

In a series of tweets, Yechury said the party's "nefarious" design needed to be defeated.

There was no comment from the BJP on the issue.

Ranchi, Oct 23 (PTI) The Jharkhand High Court has ordered a CBI probe into the Palamau encounter in which 12 alleged Maoists were shot dead by the police on June 8, 2015.

The father of one of the deceased had filed a petition in the court alleging that those killed were not Maoists and the encounter that took place at Bakoria in the state's Palamau district was fake.

New Delhi, Oct 23 (PTI) The CBI may soon question its Special Director Rakesh Asthana in connection with alleged bribery to give relief to a businessman who was being probed in a case involving Moin Qureshi, sources said Tuesday.

They said the directions of the Delhi High Court on the plea of Asthana to maintain status quo in the matter do not bar the agency from carrying on its investigation and questioning of the accused.

Questioning of an accused does not come in the definition of coercive action which Asthana had sought to be stopped, they said.

Rameswaram (TN), Oct 23 (PTI) Five fishermen from Tamil Nadu were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on the charge of fishing in their territorial waters, Fisheries officials said here Tuesday.

The fishermen from Jegadapattinam in Pudukottai were fishing near Neduntheevu at around midnight Monday when they were arrested and their nets seized, they said.

The arrested fishermen were produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody till October 30, the officials added.

Jaipur (RJ), Oct 23 (PTI) A central excise Goods and Services Tax (GST) inspector was arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh from a businessman in Rajasthan's Alwar district, an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) official said Tuesday.

The accused officer, Shayar Singh, had demanded Rs 4 lakh as a bribe from complainant Lokpal Saini for not taking action against him related to his GST evasion. The deal was settled at Rs 3 lakh, the official said.

Singh was arrested Monday night for allegdly accepting a bribe of Rs 1 lakh by Alwar ACB sleuths here.

KANPUR: Extending their large-heartedness, the Kanpur Municipal Corporation employees have donated one-day salary to the families of the dead people in Amritsar tragic accident. A total amount of Rs 45 Lakh was collected.

A cheque of the collected amount will be given to the state chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

JALPAIGURI, WEST BENGAL; PTI: The woman who was raped allegedly by a relative and was tortured with an iron rod inserted in her private parts has been operated upon in a government hospital and is in a serious condition, hospital sources said Monday.

Doctors operated on her at the Sadar hospital in Jalpaiguri on Sunday night and the woman is in the intensive care unit, the sources said.

She is being administered blood as she had been bleeding profusely. "She is a serious condition but is stable," doctors treating her said.

Nawanshahr, Oct 23 (PTI) A government school teacher was Tuesday arrested for allegedly molesting girl students here, police said.

Sulakhan Singh (51), was booked under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, they added.

The Section 10 of POCSO Act deals with crime coming under the category of aggravated sexual assault .

Morena (MP), Oct 23 (PTI) A 35-year-old taekwondo coach has been arrested here for allegedly molesting a minor player, police said Tuesday.

The incident allegedly took place on October 18 at a hotel in Pune where the coach and the 15-year old girl had been staying to attend a tournament, Kotwali police station in-charge Atul Singh said.