IANS/PTI
PM to lead Yoga Day celebrations in Uttarakhand
Dehradun, June 20 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead fourth International Yoga Day celebrations here in Uttarakhand on Thursday in the presence of thousands of volunteers performing yoga “asanas”. He will start the event from the lawns of Forest Research Institute when a series of yoga related events will be organised around the world to mark the occasion. In a statement, Modi on Wednesday greeted yoga enthusiasts across the world, saying “yoga is not just a set of exercises that keeps the body fit. It is a passport to health assurance, a key to fitness and wellness”.
Policeman shot dead in Bihar
Patna, June 20 (IANS): A policeman was shot dead on Wednesday in Bihar’s Gaya district, police said. Guddu Sharma of the Bihar Military Police (BMP) was shot dead in broad day light near Madarpur village when he was on his way to join duty in Bodh Gaya. “Motorcycle-borne criminals fired five bullets in his chest and he died on the spot,” a district police official said. Angry over the killing, residents blocked roads to demand the arrest of the assailants.
Compensation for damaged crops raised to INR 12,000 per acre in Punjab
Chandigarh, June 20 (PTI): The Punjab government today raised the compensation for damaged crops due to bad weather from Rs 8,000 to Rs 12,000 per acre. The enhanced compensation will be big relief for the farmers, he said adding, that the order will come into effect from June 20, 2017. Meanwhile, Additional Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan said the government was giving Rs 2,000 per acre for a crop that was damaged between 26 and 32 per cent and Rs 5,400 per acre for 33 to 75 per cent damaged crop.
Three brothers born in Pakistan given Indian citizenship
Hyderabad, June 20 (PTI): Three siblings born in Pakistan but staying in Nizamabad district of Telangana since 2004 have been granted Indian citizenship, official sources said. Their mother, who hails from Nizamabad, had married a Pakistani national, a distant relative, in 1988 and had migrated to Pakistan, the official said. According to the official, following differences, the couple divorced in 2004 and the woman returned to Nizamabad the same year.
Woman dies after falling into valley at Matheran while taking selfie
Mumbai, June 20 (PTI): A 33-year-old woman from Delhi died after falling into a 500-ft deep valley while taking a selfie at Matheran, a popular hill station in neighbouring Raigad district, police said today. She had come to Matheran, a hill station known for its mild climate and well-preserved colonial architecture, with her husband and three children yesterday, Additional Superintendent of Police of Raigad, Sanjay Patil said. Around 6.30 pm, all the family members went to Louisa Point. There, all of them started clicking selfies and photos.
A worker was killed and another injured in a blast while handling explosive material at a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory in Pune’s Hinjawadi area, an official said today. The incident took place at the High Energy Material Research Laboratory (HEMRL), a premier unit of the DRDO, yesterday afternoon. The workers were cutting and dividing an explosive material into samples when it exploded, a senior HEMRL official said.
A school teacher in Jajpur district was today booked on the charge of proposing a class 10 student of the school and touching her inappropriately during private tuition sessions, police said. The 45-year-old teacher of a government run school in Barachana block had asked the girl’s parents to send their daughter for tuition to him separately so that he could focus on her, police said. The parents agreed as she is class 10 and the teacher was from the school where she studies, Inspector-in-charge of Barachana police station Sarat Chandra Patra said, quoting from the FIR lodged in this connection. But during tuition classes, the teacher who is father of two children, proposed the 15-year-old girl several times and she turned down his proposal every time.
Three elephants were rescued from a 17-foot deep farm well today, hours after they fell into it in a forest fringe village in the district, officials said. On hearing their trumpeting, residents of the village in Kadambur forest area this morning noticed the elephants in the well with about five feet of water and informed forest personnel. Forest officials along with a rescue team reached the spot. They dug up the land around the well using earth movers and created a slope, enabling the elephants to climb out of the well, the officials said.
A headless body of a woman was found from a toilet of a Puri-bound passenger train here this morning, a Railway Protection Force officer said. Hours later, local people spotted a severed head on the rail line near Gandhi level crossing at Delang area of the district, he said. It is yet to be seen if the severed head matches with the torso, Das told reporters. A team of Government Railway Police (GRP), along with a forensic scientists, has recovered the body from the train.
A 26-year-old man and his wife allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison in Satheri village here, police said today. They were found unconscious near the Ganga Canal last evening and taken to a hospital, where they were declared dead, Station House Officer (SHO) Virendra Kasana said. The reason behind them taking the extreme step is yet to be ascertained, the officer said. The SHO said Kallu and Babita had got married six months ago and were staying at Mansurpur village.
