Breaking News, September 18 | HIGHLIGHTS

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday hailed the declaration of Santiniketan in West Bengal and the 'Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala' in Karnataka as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, saying these are living testaments to the eternity of India's culture.

In a rare case, a baby girl was born with a total of 26 fingers and toes in the Deeg district of Rajasthan, doctors at a health centre said on Monday. The newborn has seven fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. While the doctors said that the extra fingers and toes were due to a rare condition caused by a genetic disorder, the girl's family members believe that she is an incarnation of a goddess they worship.

An FIR was registered and services of an employee terminated after an online post, accusing the Madhya Pradesh government of corruption, was published from the official X (earlier Twitter) handle of the district collector of Betul, police said on Monday.

Three persons were killed when a dumper skidded off the road and plunged into a deep gorge in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district on Monday, officials said. The accident occurred near remote Tanger village around 6.15 pm, they said. The driver of the load carrier, which was on its way to Tanger from Sawlakote, lost control while crossing a blind curve and rolled down into a gorge, officials said.

The Allahabad High Court on Monday expressed its dissatisfaction with the preliminary report submitted by state authorities in connection with the alleged police lathi-charge on advocates in Hapur last month. During a hearing on the matter on Monday, the bench comprising Chief Justice Pritinkar Diwakar and Justice M C Tripathi said state authorities should file another report before the next hearing in the matter on October 12.
The court said that statements of lawyers under Section 161 CrPC have to be recorded.

Five persons were arrested after six kg heroin was seized from their possession here, a senior police official said on Monday. Acting on a tip off, a police team nabbed five persons near Ramidi bridge in Kapurthala, Senior Superintendent of Police Rajpal Singh Sandhu said. The SSP said police seized six kg heroin and Rs 7 lakh cash from the accused. The accused were identified as Kashmir Singh of village Dogranwala, Swaran Singh alias Chapar of Villa Kothi, Amandeep Singh of Dyalpur, Rahul and Atul, the police said.

More than 13,750 police personnel have been deployed in Mumbai for security during Ganesh festivities, which will begin on Tuesday, an official said. These comprise 11,726 constables, 2,024 officers from the rank of sub inspector to assistant commissioner and 15 deputy commissioners, he said.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Monday participated in the "Bada Khana" organised by the Delhi Police and appreciated its efforts in ensuring "foolproof" security during the G20 Summit, an official said. The summit, under India's G20 presidency, was held in the national capital on September 9 and 10.

A 20-year-old man was arrested for allegedly killing his friend here on the suspicion that he had stolen his mobile phone, a police officer said on Monday. Abhisekh Lal was arrested on Sunday evening from Kadamba area of the city, Superintendent of Police Rishabh Garg told newsmen.

More than 1.3 lakh primary school teachers of Odisha on Monday called off their 11-day-old agitation after holding discussions with the state government. Demanding abolition of the contractual appointment system, hike in grade pay and restoration of the old pension scheme, over 1.30 lakh primary school teachers have been staging protests since September 8.

A 1,200-year-old Buddha statue found in West Bengal's Purulia district earlier this year will be temporarily kept in the storeroom of a state government office in Kolkata. With this, the total number of retrieved artefacts in the possession of the office of Administrator General and Official Trustee of West Bengal has reached 40,000, the administrator general and official trustee, Biplab Roy, told reporters here on Monday.

At least five persons were killed and six others injured in two separate road accidents in Odisha's Cuttack and Puri districts on Monday, police said. While four persons were killed in a road accident in Cuttack district, one died in an accident in Puri district.

Amid a demand for the Women's Reservation Bill, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the contribution of women parliamentarians has been on the rise over the years. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Modi highlighted the changing composition of the House over the years, saying it had become more inclusive with all sections of society finding representation.

An army helicopter on a routine sortie made a precautionary landing near Yamunanagar in Haryana due to a "technical issue" on Monday, a statement said. The Chetak helicopter landed at Shadipur village in Yamunanagar and those onboard the chopper are safe, it said.

Supreme Court declines an appeal against a division bench of the Madras High Court which stayed an order of a single judge allowing the sale of Ganesh idols made using Plaster of Paris.

Supreme Court said it expects deference, dignity to directions issued by it while pronouncing verdict on Maharashtra political row.