IANS/PTI
Maoist attack in Bihar; one killed, two abducted
Patna, Dec. 20 (IANS): Maoists have attacked a railway station in Bihar, killing one person and abducting two to enforce their shutdown, police said on Wednesday. Dozens of armed Maoists attacked the Masudan railway station on Jamalpur-Kieul rail section late on Tuesday night. They killed a deputy village body head, torched cabin panel and abducted two railway employees to enforce a shutdown they had called on Wednesday Train services on that stretch was stopped.
Kerala JD-U leader quits RS
New Delhi, Dec. 20 (IANS): Disgruntled Janata Dal-United leader M.P. Veerendra Kumar on Wednesday resigned from the Rajya Sabha, days after rebel JD-U leaders Sharad Yadav and Ali Anwar were disqualified from the Upper House. The 80-year-old, also a Kerala media baron, submitted his resignation to Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday morning, Arun Kumar Shrivastava, also a rebel JD-U leader, told IANS. Shrivastava said Veerendra Kumar, who was elected to the Upper House from Kerala last year with support from the Congress-led UDF, resigned “so that no one questions his integrity that he is aligning with (Bihar Chief Minister and JD-U President) Nitish Kumar”. Veerendra Kumar was the chairman of the JD-U’s Kerala unit.
Max Hospital resumes operation after stay on license cancellation
New Delhi, Dec. 20 (IANS): Max Hospital Shalimar Bagh resumed its operations on Wednesday, days after its licence was cancelled by the city government for declaring a live newborn baby dead. The hospital said the operation was resumed after the Court of Finance Commissioner on Tuesday put on hold the government’s December 8 order. The hospital had appealed to the appellate authority to revoke the cancellation of the licence.
Justice Karnan released from prison
Kolkata, Dec. 20 (IANS): Former Calcutta High Court judge C.S. Karnan was released from prison on Wednesday after serving six months of imprisonment for contempt of Supreme Court, his counsel Mathew J. Nedumpara said. After remaining untraceable for over a month, he was arrested on June 20 by the West Bengal Police from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. He was lodged in Presidency jail since then.
Kerala DGP Jacob Thomas suspended
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec. 20 (IANS): The Kerala government has suspended Director General of Police (DGP) Jacob Thomas on charges of violating service rules, officials said on Wednesday. The suspension order came on Tuesday night. Thomas was suspended from service by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for violating the All India Service Rules after it surfaced that the officer had spoken about breakdown of law and order in the state and the way cyclone Ockhi was handled. Thomas said he was yet to see or get the suspension order.
Four followers of Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh have been arrested for indulging in arson after he was convicted of rape in August, police said on Wednesday. They set fire to two empty coaches stationed at Anand Vihar station yard to avenge the sect chief’s conviction for the rape of two female disciples, an officer said. Based on a tip-off, Vijay Malik, Bir Singh, Kanhaiya Lal and Harjeet Singh were arrested late on Tuesday from their residences in east Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar and Laxmi Nagar.
The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to set up cow protection committees in all districts of the state. The ‘Gau Sanrakshan Samiti’ would be headed by the district magistrate and it would ensure that cow sheds in the region operate efficiently, said a statement issued by the state government here yesterday. Apart from this, to make the committees self-reliant various cow-related products such as biogas, compost, soaps, incense sticks, mosquito repellant coil, phenyl made from cow’s urine would be sold, he said.
A 16-year-old student accused of killing a seven-year-old boy at the Ryan International School here will be tried as an adult, the Juvenile Justice Board said today. The board passed the order this morning responding to a plea that the teenager accused of the crime should not be treated as a juvenile. The teenager is expected to be produced before Gurgaon’s Sessions Court at its next hearing on December 22.
Over 1,000 cases of people securing jobs using forged caste certificates have been reported by various central government departments, the Lok Sabha was informed today. The Department of Personnel and Training had in June sought data from all central government organisations regarding appointments made on the basis of fake caste certificates.
To improve the rural economy the West Bengal government would construct 13,000 kilometre of rural roads in the state. West Bengal Panchayat and Rural Development Minister Subrata Mukherjee said the Mamata Banerjee government would spend Rs 3,100 crore as state’s share to complete the Rs 7,800 crore project to construct 13,000 km rural roads.
Over one lakh posts related to the railways’ safety mechanism were vacant as of April 2017, the government informed Parliament today. In written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain said that efforts were being made to fill up the vacant posts expeditiously. The minister further stated that in the past five years, a total of 50,463 candidates had been empanelled for the post of assistant loco pilot through railway recruitment boards.
