India

Kolkata, Mar 1 (PTI) An aide of BJP leader Rakesh Singh has been arrested here in connection with the New Alipore drug seizure case, a senior police officer said on Monday.

With the fresh arrest, six persons, including two BJP leaders have been held so far in connection with the case.

The accused was nabbed from a shed beside Adi Ganga canal near Orphangunge market in Watgunge police station area late on Sunday night, the officer said.

New Delhi, Mar 1 (PTI) Former Miss India Delhi Mansi Sehgal joined the Aam Aadmi Party in the presence of party leader Raghav Chadha, the AAP said in a statement on Monday.

Speaking on the occassion, Sehgal, Miss India Delhi 2019, said she was "inspired by the honest governance of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal" and therefore chose to join the AAP.

For any nation to prosper, health and education are the two main pillars and there has been a "tremendous change" in these fields in the last few years under the leadership of Kejriwal, she said.

Kolkata, Mar 1 (PTI) The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has appointed 28 observers for poll-bound West Bengal, a senior leader said on Monday.

Congress leaders from states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand have been appointed as observers for the eight-phase elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly.

The AICC appointed four observers for Kolkata, dividing it into north, south, central and Burrabazar districts, while there will be two observers each for the districts of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas, he said.

Srinagar, Mar 1 (PTI) Schools in Kashmir reopened on Monday after remaining closed for nearly one year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The students of classes 9 to 12 attended school for the first time since March 9, 2020.

Only those students were allowed to attend school who had been granted permission in writing by their parents.

Most private schools had sought no objection certificates from parents, absolving the school management of any blame in case of any health issue arising due to conduct of physical classes.

New Delhi, Mar 1 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at AIIMS here and appealed to all those who are eligible to get inoculated.

Sister P Niveda, from Puducherry, administered Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN to the prime minister, sources said.

NEW DELHI (AP) — India is expanding its COVID-19 vaccination drive beyond health care and front-line workers, offering the shots to older people and those with medical conditions that put them at risk. Among the first to be inoculated on Monday was Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

NEW DELHI, Feb 28 (NNN-PTI) – Authorities in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, yesterday said, the death toll in the dam disaster has risen to 72, and the search for missing people was still underway.

“As of now, a total of 72 bodies and 30 human body parts have been retrieved from different places,” read a statement issued by the police. “Out of these 40 bodies and one body part has been identified.”

Police said DNA profiling of the unidentified bodies was being carried out.

SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - Security forces battling a decades-long insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir are alarmed by the recent arrival in the disputed region of small, magnetic bombs that have wreaked havoc in Afghanistan.

“Sticky bombs”, which can be attached to vehicles and detonated remotely, have been seized during raids in recent months in the federally administered region of Jammu and Kashmir, three senior security officials told Reuters.

Pilibhit (UP), Feb 28 (PTI) A teenager was held in connection with the rape of a four-year-old girl at a village here, police said on Sunday, adding that the victim has been admitted to a hospital for treatment.

Superintendent of Police Jai Prakash Yadav on Sunday told reporters that the incident took place on Saturday when the girl was playing outside her house.

The 16-year-old accused on the pretext of giving her something took her to an empty room in the village and raped her, he said.

New Delhi, Feb 28 (PTI) The Army has cancelled an examination for pan-India recruitment of general duty personnel after paper was found to have been leaked, officials said on Sunday.

They further said at least three persons have been arrested in Pune so far.

"The Indian Army has zero tolerance towards corrupt practices in the recruitment process for selection of suitable candidates," an official said.