India

Srinagar, Aug 21: A Kashmiri and a policeman were killed while a sub-inspector was injured in an alleged gunfight between Indian security forces and Kashmiri separatists in Baramulla district of Indian administered Kashmir, an Indian official said.

The Indian security forces' spokesperson alleged that a cordon and search operation was underway in the area following information about presence of Kashmiri separatist.

New Delhi, Aug 20; IANS/GANASHAKTI: The Union Home Ministry on Tuesday increased from 60 to 120 days the time limit for filing appeals in Foreign Tribunals (FTs) regarding exclusion from the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam.

A review meeting chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday decided to amend the rules realising the difficulties in filing an appeal within the prescribed time for all those excluded from the final NRC.

Pune, August 20; GANASHAKTI: More than 7,000 workers from three key Defence manufacturing units in Pune went on a strike from Tuesday morning, bringing production to a complete halt. The agitation is part of a nationwide month-long strike of over 82,000 ordnance workers from 41 factories, against the proposed ‘corporatisation’ of the factories by the government.

Srinagar, Aug 20; GANASHAKTI:  Barricades around the Clock Tower in Srinagar's city centre Lal Chowk were removed after 15 days on Tuesday, allowing the movement of people and traffic in the commercial hub, as restrictions eased in several localities while continuing in others.

No students showed up in most primary schools that reopened on Monday but attendance in government offices has improved, officials said.

Lucknow, Aug 21 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday expanded his council of ministers with 23 ministers taking oath at the Raj Bhavan.

This is the first rejig of Adityanath's council of ministers since he came to power in 2017.

Four ministers of state with independent charge were promoted as cabinet ministers, while two new faces, Ram Naresh Agnihotri and Kamla Rani Varun, joined as cabinet ministers.

Rajnandgaon, Aug 20 (PTI) Ten cows died of suffocation at a shelter run by a village panchayat in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district, an official said on Tuesday.

The deaths at the cow shelter at Barbaspur village came to light on August 18.

"Preliminary investigation revealed that the cows were locked in a room to protect them from rain, and they died of asphyxiation," the official said, requesting anonymity.

Jammu/New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was stopped at the Jammu airport on Tuesday and sent back to Delhi, a party leader said, the second time in a month the former chief minister was not allowed to visit Jammu and Kashmir.

"Azad sahib had arrived from Delhi at around 2.45 pm and was not allowed to move out from the airport and forcibly sent back in a return flight to Delhi at 4.10 pm," state Congress chief spokesperson Ravinder Sharma told PTI.

New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Tuesday disqualified rebel Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and former minister Sandeep Kumar under the anti-defection law, an official statement said.

Kumar, who faced the action for supporting the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the Lok Sabha elections, is the fourth legislator of Delhi's ruling party to be disqualified in less than a month.

Guwahati, Aug 20 (PTI) A family in Silchar in Assam has called off the wedding of their daughter when the groom failed to provide his citizenship credentials.

Dilwar Hussain Laskar, of Nayagram village near Silchar was in love with a local girl and the two families had agreed to their marriage.

But trouble arose when the girl's family wanted to know from his family on August 15 whether his name was in the citizens register.

New Delhi, Aug 20 (PTI) Ahead of the Delhi University students' union polls, the RSS-affiliated ABVP on Tuesday installed busts of V D Savarkar, Subhash Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh 'without due permission' outside the gate of Arts Faculty in north campus.

The move has been criticised by the Congress-affiliated NSUI and Left-backed AISA which said Savarkar cannot be kept on the same pedestal as Bose and Singh.

The two-feet long busts in white marble have been placed on a 6.5-ft-long pillar which is red in colour.