Earthquake kills 62 in India
The death toll due to Saturday's earthquake in Nepal rose to 2,500, while 6,000 were reported to be injured, even as a fresh tremor measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale struck Kathmandu on Sunday. Thousands of foreign tourists have been stranded in the country after the international airport at Kathmandu was forced to shut down. India stepped up relief operations, deploying over two dozen aircraft and choppers along with nearly 1,000 personnel to assist in search-and-rescue efforts. Meanwhile, the death toll in India rose to 62 from 51 on Saturday, as aftershocks rattled some northern and eastern areas of the country. Union Home Secretary LC Goyal said that Bihar had accounted for the maximum number of casualties, with 46 deaths being reported from the state. The Centre announced a compensation of Rs 6 lakh for families of the Indian citizens killed in the quake.
Centre may probe Gajendra Singh's suicide
The Central government may order a larger probe into the suicide of Rajasthan farmer Gajendra Singh after receiving a preliminary report by the Delhi Police on the incident, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on Sunday. Naidu said that he believed Singh’s suicide was unrelated to the Land Acquisition Bill, explaining that farmer suicides were a “long-term issue" in the country. “Centre, state governments and all political parties should come together to find some long term solution to this problem," he said. Singh committed suicide in Delhi on Wednesday, during a rally organised by the Aam Aadmi Party to protest the land bill.
Rahul plans long march on land bill
Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi will embark on a country-wide march from Vidarbha in Maharashtra at the end of April to continue his protest against the land acquisition bill, party officials said on Sunday. The officials stated that Gandhi will travel 15 km-18-km every day to highlight the issues faced by farmers in the country, including the Central government’s failure to raise the minimum support price for crops. Gandhi will make trips to Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, officials added. The Congress leader launched his agitation against the land bill by addressing a farmers’ rally at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi.
ITBP officer awarded gallantry medal
An officer of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police was awarded a gallantry medal by President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday for foiling a terrorist attack on an Indian Consulate in Afghanistan's Herat province last year. The Shaurya Chakra was conferred on Manjeet Singh during an investiture ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. The citation stated that Singh had displayed a “rare quality of leadership in the face of imminent danger”.
Case registered against eight Pakistanis
The Mumbai Police on Sunday registered a case against eight Pakistani nationals who were apprehended after the Navy and the Coast Guard seized their boat along with 232-kilograms of heroin in a joint operation last week. The case was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, a senior police official said. The value of the seized heroin is estimated to be Rs 600 crore.
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The death toll due to Saturday's earthquake in Nepal rose to 2,500, while 6,000 were reported to be injured, even as a fresh tremor measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale struck Kathmandu on Sunday. Thousands of foreign tourists have been stranded in the country after the international airport at Kathmandu was forced to shut down. India stepped up relief operations, deploying over two dozen aircraft and choppers along with nearly 1,000 personnel to assist in search-and-rescue efforts. Meanwhile, the death toll in India rose to 62 from 51 on Saturday, as aftershocks rattled some northern and eastern areas of the country. Union Home Secretary LC Goyal said that Bihar had accounted for the maximum number of casualties, with 46 deaths being reported from the state. The Centre announced a compensation of Rs 6 lakh for families of the Indian citizens killed in the quake.
Centre may probe Gajendra Singh's suicide
The Central government may order a larger probe into the suicide of Rajasthan farmer Gajendra Singh after receiving a preliminary report by the Delhi Police on the incident, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on Sunday. Naidu said that he believed Singh’s suicide was unrelated to the Land Acquisition Bill, explaining that farmer suicides were a “long-term issue" in the country. “Centre, state governments and all political parties should come together to find some long term solution to this problem," he said. Singh committed suicide in Delhi on Wednesday, during a rally organised by the Aam Aadmi Party to protest the land bill.
Rahul plans long march on land bill
Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi will embark on a country-wide march from Vidarbha in Maharashtra at the end of April to continue his protest against the land acquisition bill, party officials said on Sunday. The officials stated that Gandhi will travel 15 km-18-km every day to highlight the issues faced by farmers in the country, including the Central government’s failure to raise the minimum support price for crops. Gandhi will make trips to Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, officials added. The Congress leader launched his agitation against the land bill by addressing a farmers’ rally at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi.
ITBP officer awarded gallantry medal
An officer of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police was awarded a gallantry medal by President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday for foiling a terrorist attack on an Indian Consulate in Afghanistan's Herat province last year. The Shaurya Chakra was conferred on Manjeet Singh during an investiture ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. The citation stated that Singh had displayed a “rare quality of leadership in the face of imminent danger”.
Case registered against eight Pakistanis
The Mumbai Police on Sunday registered a case against eight Pakistani nationals who were apprehended after the Navy and the Coast Guard seized their boat along with 232-kilograms of heroin in a joint operation last week. The case was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, a senior police official said. The value of the seized heroin is estimated to be Rs 600 crore.
