Nation news in brief

Eight die in Bengal road accident

Kolkata, August 8 (IANS): Eight persons were killed and 25 injured when the driver of a bus lost control and it flipped over in Nadia district of West Bengal on Tuesday, police said. The bus going from Krishnanagar to Palasipara flipped in the Nayanjuli stretch in Tehatta area on Tuesday afternoon, a police official said. The injured have been admitted to Krishnagar Hospital, he said. The driver fled the scene after the accident. “We are looking for him. No one has been arrested in the incident so far,” the official said.

149 jails overcrowded by over 200 per cent: Government

New Delhi, August 8 (IANS): Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir on Tuesday said that 149 of the total 1,401 jails in the country had an overcrowding rate of more than 200 per cent as on December 2015 as per the data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau. “In the Model Prison Manual 2016, the minimum accommodation space per prisoner in Sleeping Barracks suggested is 3.71 sq mt and 8.92 sq mt of ground area in Cells. No Central statistics are available on the actual space available to a prison inmate in different jails,” Ahir said in a statement in response to a question raised by Sushil Kumar Singh, who represents Aurangabad (Bihar) in the Lok Sabha. “Prisons is a state subject. However, a central scheme for modernisation of prisons, with a financial outlay of Rs 1,800 crores, was launched in 2002. Under this scheme, 125 new jails were constructed and 1,579 barracks were added to existing prisons.” Ahir said the government had introduced the concept of plea bargaining to address the problem of overcrowding in prisons.

Special status to J&K: SC seeks Centre’s response

New Delhi, August 8 (IANS): The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir government on a plea challenging the validity of the Article 370 of the Constitution that gives special status to the state. A bench of Chief Justice J.S. Khehar, Justice A.K. Goel and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud asked the Centre and the state to file response on an appeal filed by one Kumari Vijayalakshmi Jha against a Delhi High Court order. Jha argued that Article 370 was a temporary provision that had lapsed with the dissolution of the state’s Constituent Assembly in 1957. Continuance of temporary provision of the Article 370, which had never got the assent or approval of the President or Parliament, on matters like citizenship, amounted to a fraud on the basic structure of the Constitution. The plea said that the special status to the state was against the nation’s sovereignty, integrity and unity. In April, a High Court bench of Justices G. Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath had dismissed Jha’s plea following which the petitioner moved the apex court.

9 new swine flu cases detected in UP

Lucknow, August 8 (IANS): Nine students have tested positive for swine flu in the Uttar Pradesh capital, taking the total number of cases in the state to 150, health department officials said on Tuesday. The management of the schools where these children were studying have been asked to step up awareness and ensure a close watch on swine flu symptoms on other students. So far, 12 people have died in the state due to swine flu, the officials said. While the number of swine flu patients continue to grow in the state capital, most hospitals remain ill equipped and do not have isolation wards. Last week, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited the Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences to review its preparedness for swine flu patients and had also pulled up some doctors for lack of proper facilities. The state government has also asked all private hospitals and pathological labs to conduct swine flu confirmatory tests as government hospitals are under pressure with mounting patients.

Lok Sabha adjourned for the day

New Delhi, August 8 (IANS): The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day on Tuesday after BJP and Congress members sparred over the attack on Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi in Gujarat. The House was adjourned as Congress members trooped near the Speaker’s podium shouting slogans against the government during Zero Hour. The Congress alleged that the attack on Gandhi was carried out by BJP workers while Home Minister Rajnath Singh demanded to know why the Congress leader did not use a bullet-proof car as recommended by the authorities.

Kejriwal announces compensation to families of deceased sanitation workers

New Delhi, August 8 (IANS): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday announced financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to the families of each of the three sanitation employees who died while cleaning a gutter here. He also promised a government job to one family member. The three sanitation workers died on Sunday after inhaling toxic gases while cleaning a gutter in Lajpat Nagar. The Chief Minister met the family members of the deceased and announced the compensation. “A financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh shall be granted to the affected families. One family member of each of the victims would be given a government job,” he told media. He said that a high powered committee would examine why such incidents were happening and required action would be taken to check them.

Soldier killed in ceasefire violation by Pakistan on LoC

Jammu, August 8 (IANS): An Indian Army soldier was killed on Tuesday in a ceasefire violation by the Pakistan Army on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district. Defence Ministry sources said in Jammu that the Pakistan Army violated the ceasefire in Mankote area of the LoC in Poonch district. “A soldier -- identified as Sepoy Pawan Kumar -- was killed in the firing by the Pakistan Army,” the sources said. Indian positions have also retaliated to unprovoked ceasefire violation by the Pakistan army in the area.

Junior engineer arrested for taking Rs 50,000 bribe

Jaipur, August 8 (PTI): The Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau today arrested a junior engineer of the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 50,000, an official said.Deepak Yogi, posted at JDA’s Zone-12, had demanded a Rs 50,000 bribe for releasing a spot report and land allotment letter for a plot from the complainant, ACB DIG Sachin Mittal said. The complaint was verified by the ACB team and Yogi was arrested while accepting the bribe, he said.