Breaking News, February 5

Four cadres from different insurgent groups were arrested with arms and ammunition in Imphal. 

A war of words broke out between the BJP and the ruling TRS after Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao did not receive Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Hyderabad on Saturday. Rao also skipped both the programmes attended by the Prime Minister. The Chief Minister was reportedly down with mild fever. However, BJP leaders have slammed the Chief Minister for staying away, alleging that he has insulted the Prime Minister.

"He was fine till yesterday. Has he developed fever with Mr Modi's arrival," taunted BJP state chief Bandi Sanjay while reacting to reports that the Chief Minister is indisposed. Talking to reporters, the BJP leader termed KCR's act shameful. He said the people of Telangana are hanging their heads in shame due to the Chief Minister's action. The BJP MP also said that people would not forgive KCR for insulting the Prime Minister.

A journalist was killed in an IED (improvised explosive device) blast while covering posters put up by people suspected to be Maoists in Odisha's Kalahandi district on Saturday, police said.

The incident occurred when Rohit Biswal (43), who was working with an Odia daily newspaper, was trying to go near a poster put up by suspected Maoists, warning people not to vote in the coming Panchayat polls in Mohangiri village in Madanpur-Rampur block of the district.

Jammu and Kashmir police said on Saturday that it has busted a Narco-Miltancy module by arresting two people along with contraband worth Rs 18 crore in Baramulla district. In a statement the police said, "Today police party of Police Station Uri and Police Post Kamalkote headed by SHO Police station Uri were patrolling the area from Dachi towards Basgran.

During the patrolling two vehicles Celerio-X bearing registration No JK09C-1584 and Alto bearing registration No JK05G-0247 were found on a link road towards Dachi in a suspicious condition. During the search three packets of contraband apparently Heroin was recovered from Celerio vehicle and Five packets of contraband apparently Heroin was recovered from Alto vehicle.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday termed digital agriculture as India's future and that talented youth can play a key role in empowering farmers through digital technology.

Addressing the 50th anniversary celebrations of International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) at Patancheru near here, he suggested to the institute and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to expand their partnership for higher productivity and water management in dry land areas to digital agriculture.

The Prime Minister claimed that India has stepped up its efforts in using latest technology like Artificial Intelligence (AI) in areas like crop assessment, land records digitization, deployment of drones for spraying of insecticides and nutrients and providing various services.

Karnataka police have taken Rs 10 lakh bond from accused Adi Narayana Naidu, grandson of former MP D.K. Adikeshavulu Naidu, for running over his car on street dogs. The accused was given a stern warning that if he indulges in case of animal cruelty in future he will be put behind bars, police said on Saturday.

Accused 23-year-old Adi Narayana Naidu had deliberately run his Audi car over a street dog Lara and killed it in the limits of Siddapura police station in Bengaluru six days ago. The CCTV footage of the incident also went viral on the ocial media triggering public outrage.

Later, animal activists who lodged complaints against Adi in connection with the incident were threatened that they would meet the same fate as the street dog, which further raised concerns among the public. The police finally arrested the accused and released him on bail.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police has arrested a man, a law graduate, for duping over 200 people on the pretext of investing in different schemes to earn high profit.

The accused identified as Himanshu Singh, alias Rishu, was running the racket along with three others -- Praveen Kumar Singh, Veenu Singh and Deepak Kumar Singh. The three had already been arrested by the police and charge-sheeted in the case.

The National Green Tribunal has disposed of an application seeking a rehearing on a decision of the Punjab forest department allowing wood-based industries to operate without any restriction.

A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said the Tribunal considered the matter in the light of a factual report dated September 17, 2021, submitted by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Head of Forest Force), Punjab justifying the decision taken.

"The present review application, in substance, seeks rehearing which is not permissible. The application is accordingly dismissed," said the bench in its order dated February 2.

Three persons were killed when the car in which they were travelling fell into a deep gorge in Chamoli district, authorities said on Saturday. The vehicle was on its way to Ghuni from Ramni village Friday night when it fell into the gorge near Ghat area, District Disaster Management officer NK Joshi said. The bodies were recovered on Saturday morning. The deceased were identified as Kailash Singh (30), Devendra Singh (33), and Tota Ram (40) -- all residents of Ramni village of the district. 

PM Narendra Modi called J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to inquire about the situation in the UT due to the earthquake: ANI sources

Cold conditions persisted in parts of Rajasthan with Churu being the coldest place with a minimum temperature of 3.3 degrees Celsius on Friday night, a meteorological department official said. Sikar recorded a minimum temperature of 3.5 degrees Celsius, followed by 3.6 degrees Celsius in Sangaria, 3.7 degrees Celsius in Karauli, 3.9 degrees Celsius in Chittorgarh, 4.4 degrees Celsius in Bhilwara, 4.6 degrees Celsius in Pilani, 4.8 degrees Celsius in Alwar, 5.2 degrees Celsius in Anta, 5.5 degrees Celsius in Sriganganagar, 5.8 degrees Celsius each in Alwar and Fatehpur. Various other places across the state recorded minimum temperatures below 10 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature was recorded between 19 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius at most places in the state. 

An earthquake of magnitude 5.7 on the Richter scale hit Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, but there were no reports of any loss of life or damage to property, officials said. The epicentre of the quake, which occurred at 9.45 am, was at the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border. Strong tremors were felt in Jammu and Kashmir, they said. The officials said the quake hit at latitude 36.34 degrees north and longitude 71.05 degrees east at a depth of 181 km.
The tremors caused panic among people who rushed out of their homes. However, there were no reports of any loss of life or damage to property, the officials said. 

A 27-year-old man was shot dead inside his house by unidentified assailants in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said on Saturday.Karamat Shah, a resident of Targain village in Budhal area, was shot in the head by unidentified gunmen from the window of his room on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, a police official said. He said Karamat died on the spot. The official said firing also took place at the house of one Nabi Shah from the same village. He and his family escaped unhurt. Police parties have reached the spot and a manhunt has been launched to nab the gunmen involved in the two incidents, he said, adding that a case has been registered.

A 30-year-old man was allegedly lynched in Koirauna police station area of Bhadohi on Friday evening, police said. Munshi Gautam, a Dalit, was driving a tractor in an inebriated state when he lost control of the vehicle after going over a speed bump and hit a cyclist in Berwa Paharpur village. As people tried to catch him, he accelerated in a bid to escape but hit a tree and fell on the road, Superintendent of Police Anil Kumar said. The crowd caught hold of him and physically assaulted him. Later, he was taken to the community health centre where doctors declared him brought dead, the SP said.

Two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants were killed in an encounter with security forces here in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, police said. Acting on specific inputs about the presence of militants in the Zakura locality of the city, security forces launched a cordon and search operation there during the night, a police official said.