Lucknow, Oct 19 (PTI) The VHP Friday hailed the Uttar Pradesh government's decision to adopt a proposal to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj and demanded that the name of Faizabad be changed to "Sri Ayodhya".

VHP spokesman Sharad Sharma said the renaming of Allahabad aimed to free the mindset of slavery and added all sections of people had hailed this step of the state government.

New Delhi, Oct 20 (PTI) A haze engulfed the national capital as the air quality nosedived to "very poor" category with several areas inching towards "severe" pollution levels, authorities said Saturday.

The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) of Delhi was recorded at 337, which falls in the 'very poor' category and is the highest of this season, creating hazy conditions, said data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

About 31 areas in Delhi recorded 'very poor' air quality while two areas showed 'severe' air quality levels, it said.

A seventy year old man was stoned to death by a group of monkeys on October 17 in Tikri village.

According to Krishnapal Singh, the brother of the deceased, Dharampal was collecting woods when he was attacked by the monkeys. Bricks were thrown at his head and chest. Dharampal was admitted in hospital where he succumbed to injuries.

Srinagar, Oct 19 (PTI) Two militants were Friday killed by security forces in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

The militants, travelling in a car, were asked to stop at Kraalhaar but they opened fire at the security personnel, a police official said adding, that the duo was killed in retaliatory fire.

Some arms and ammunition were recovered from the scene, he said. Further details were awaited.

Amritsar, Oct 19 (PTI) The Punjab Police on Friday arrested two members of a Khalistani module who were allegedly engaged in propagating the 'Referendum 2020' campaign by affixing banners and posters in public places in Amritsar.

'Referendum 2020' is a campaign that seeks to garner support for a separate state for Sikhs -- Khalistan.

The accused were identified as Sukhraj Singh alias Raju and Malkit Singh alias Meetu, police said.

Amritsar, Oct 20 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Saturday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the Amritsar train accident after visiting injured and kin of those killed in the tragedy.

The chief minister postponed a trip to Israel and arrived here this morning to assess the damage.

"We are announcing a magisterial probe into the incident," Singh said while talking to media here.

Jaipur, Oct 19 (PTI) The number of people infected with Zika virus rose to 109 in Rajasthan on Friday.

According to a spokesperson of the state medical and health department, the nine new cases confirmed were from Jaipur.

However, 91 Zika virus infected patients are healthy now after treatment, he said, adding the department is making all efforts to contain mosquito larvae in the affected area.

Most of the cases have been reported from densely populated Shastri Nagar locality of the state capital.

Bhubaneswar, Oct 18 (PTI) A 25-year-old woman from West Bengal was allegedly gang raped for 10 days in confinement at a market complex in Puri district, police said Thursday.

Police have detained two youths in connection with the crime and interrogating them, Puri district additional superintendent of police Gagarin Mohanty said.

The woman was rescued by the police after breaking the lock on Wednesday after she raised an alarm from the roof top of the building where she was detained.

Pune, Oct 18 (PTI) A 28-year-old woman who had undergone a uterus transplant gave birth to a baby girl at a private hospital here Thursday.

A doctor who treated her claimed that it was the first such case in the country.

Meenakshi Walan, resident of Vadodara, underwent the transplant in May 2017, said Dr Neeta Warty, one of the doctors who oversaw the delivery.

Walan'smother donated her uterus to her daughter as Walan's uterus had become non-functional following a miscarriage, she said.

New Delhi, Oct 18 (PTI) Police Thursday prevented Delhi Congressmen from torching a specially-designed effigy having 16 heads, two of them in the centre representing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on Dussehra.

The Congress unit wanted to torch the 50-foot effigy to register their protest over the sealing of illegal commercial establishments in Delhi.

Muzaffarnagar (UP), Oct 19 (PTI) A 65-year-old farmer was allegedly beaten to death by unidentified miscreants in Shamli district's Titoli village, police said Friday.

The farmer, Karan Pal had gone to irrigate his fields Thursday but he did not return home, SHO Adarsh Mandi Police station Anil Singh said.

After a search, Pal's body was found with injuries and bruise marks in his field. It was sent for postmortem, the SHO said.

A case of murder was registered under the Indian Penal Code, he added.

Chandigarh, Oct 19 (PTI) A suspended Chandigarh Police sub-inspector has been booked for allegedly raping a 25-year-old model from Mumbai, police said on Friday.

The victim told the police that Naveen Phogat raped her in June this year and he claimed to have objectionable videos and photos of her.

Phogat used these to blackmail the woman to get sexual favours from her in lieu of getting her money back from a man who had fraudulently transferred Rs 12 lakh from her account, the police said.