India

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 21 (PTI): Union minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday hit out at the CPI(M)-led LDF government for registering a case against Enforcement Directorate officials probing the gold smuggling case, saying any attempt to hamper it by such acts 'clearly shows what is troubling them".

"If they try to hamper progress of the ongoing investigation by filing a police case against ED officials, it clearly shows what is troubling them.

Bijapur, Mar 21 (PTI) Naxals have allegedly killed a policeman after abducting him in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, an official said on Sunday.

Constable Sannu Punem was abducted by a group of Naxals on Saturday evening from Pondum village under Bhairmgarh police station limits and his body was found this morning near a rivulet close to nearby Keshkutul village, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P said.

Hyderabad, Mar 20 (PTI) Uranium exploration has been taken up in Arunachal Pradesh by the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research, a senior official has said.

AMD is a constituent unit of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

Mumbai, Mar 20 (PTI) Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday said NCP chief Sharad Pawar should take over as UPA chairperson.

The need of the hour is to strengthen the United Progresstive Alliance so that it emerges as a strong alternative to the BJP, Raut told reporters in Nashik.

New Delhi, Mar 20 (PTI) The police have arrested 34 people from west Delhi's Uttam Nagar area for allegedly posing as authorised representatives of tech companies, including Apple, and duping foreign nationals on the pretext of providing them technical support, officials said on Saturday.

Besides, the accused would also pose as officials of law enforcement agencies and dupe people by telling them that their social security number has been found at a crime scene and they would have to pay certain amount to avoid getting their bank accounts frozen.

New Delhi, Mar 20 (PTI) A fire broke out in a tent at Delhi's Singhu border where farmers have been protesting the Centre's three agri laws, the Samyukta Kisan Morcha claimed on Saturday.

Sukhwinder Singh, a protester, said the incident took place around 10 am near an under-construction flyover where the tent was put up.

However, there was no official word about the incident from the police or the fire department.

Guwahati, Mar 20 (PTI) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday released his party's election manifesto for Assam, making "five guarantees" that included Rs 2,000 per month for every housewife and law to nullify the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The Congress also promised to waive off farmers' agriculture debts and women's loans from micro-finance institutes, distribute kerosene and sugar through PDS, offer lunch at Rs 10 and price a quintal of rice at Rs 2,500.

Nagpur, Mar 20 (PTI) Goods worth Rs 5.80 lakh of an e-commerce firm were stolen from a truck during a journey from Telangana to Nagpur in Maharashtra, police said on Saturday.

A total of 320 boxes were loaded in the truck at Medchal in Ranga Reddy district on March 7, to be delivered at Yerla area of Nagpur.

According to driver Hamid Khan (43), unidentified persons stole three boxes containing mobile phones, body spray, deodorants and other material during the journey.

NEW DELHI, Mar 20 (NNN-PTI) – India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 11,555,284 today, with both the daily cases and new deaths hitting the highest numbers this year.

A total of 40,953 new cases and 188 more deaths were registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data from the federal health ministry. The death toll mounted to 159,558.

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, expressed concern at the sudden rise in cases, and called for immediate steps to curb a possible second wave of the pandemic in the country.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Visiting United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he and his Indian counterpart had discussed India’s planned purchase of Russia’s S400 air defence system, adding that Washington had asked all its partners to stay away from Russian equipment to avoid U.S. sanctions.

There has been no delivery of S400 systems to India and so the possibility of sanctions was not discussed, Austin told reporters in New Delhi on Saturday.