Indian Sub-continent

Mumbai, Apr 13 (PTI) Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Tuesday alleged that the Election Commission's decision to bar West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours was taken at the behest of the BJP.

This was a "direct attack on democracy" and sovereignty of independent institutions of the country, Raut claimed in a tweet.

The Sena's chief spokesperson expressed solidarity with Banerjee, while terming as the "Bengal Tigress".

Assembly elections are currently underway in West Bengal.

Kolkata, Apr 13 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday sat on a dharna in the heart of the city to protest against the Election Commission's "unconstitutional" decision to ban her from campaigning for 24 hours.

Banerjee, still confined to a wheelchair owing to the injuries she sustained last month, arrived at Mayo road here around 11.40 am and began her sit-in next to a Mahatma Gandhi's statue at the venue.

No TMC leaders or supporters were spotted nearby.

New Delhi, Apr 13 (PTI) India's drug regulator has granted permission for restricted emergency use of the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V with certain conditions, the Union Health Ministry announced on Tuesday, while stating that Dr Reddy's Laboratories will import the vaccine for use in the country.

The approval by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) paves the way for a third vaccine to be available in the country.

Kolkata, Apr 12 (PTI) Shortly after the Election Commission on Monday barred West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC boss Mamata Banerjee from campaigning for 24 hours, her party claimed that the poll panel was behaving like a "wing of the BJP" and its decision smacks of authoritarianism.

Derek O'Brien, the ruling party's Rajya Sabha MP, said it was a black day for India's democracy.

"EC stands for Extremely Compromised. April 12 BLACK DAY in our democracy," O'Brien tweeted.

New Delhi, Apr 12 (PTI) A 15-year-old boy died after a stray cow hit him with its horns while he was returning from a park in northwest Delhi's Bharat Nagar area, police said on Monday.

The deceased has been identified as Rudhir and the incident took place on Sunday afternoon, they said.

Police said he was taken to a hospital by an auto-rickshaw driver, but he died during treatment.

Srinagar, Apr 11 (PTI) National Conference (NC) on Monday questioned the latest CMIE data showing a drastic decrease in the unemployment rate in Jammu and Kashmir, saying it is a mockery of the plight of lakhs of unemployed youth.

The figures, it goes without saying, claiming spur in job creation are based on defective data, and erroneous tabulation, but it cannot change the basic facts about widespread unemployment in Jammu and Kashmir, NC spokesperson Imran Nabi Dar said in a statement.

Ghaziabad (UP), Apr 12 (PTI) Police on Monday busted a Delhi-based gang of chain snatchers and arrested four people, an official said.

Indirapuram circle DSP Anshu Jain said the gang was active in Delhi-NCR.

Those arrested have been identified as Rizwan, the gang leader, Khalid, Arif, and Asif.

The police have recovered nine gold chains, two country-made pistols and two knives from their possession.

During interrogation, Rizwan told the police that he used to sell the stolen chains to a goldsmith in Kondli.

NEW DELHI (AP) — The Indian city of Pune is running out of ventilators as gasping coronavirus patients crowd its hospitals. Social media is full of people searching for beds, while relatives throng pharmacies looking for antiviral medicines that hospitals ran out of long ago.

New Delhi, Apr 13 (PTI) The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has said more than 850 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine are going to be produced annually in India, which has also given approval for the emergency use of the vaccine against coronavirus infections in the country.

MIRPUR [AJK]: Apr 12 (APP): Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan on Monday said that we want peace in the region but peace could n’t be established on the dead bodies of Kashmiris.

“If India desires peace,it will have to resolve the Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes of Kashmiris and international principles,” Masood emphasized.