India

Jammu, June 22 (PTI) An Army jawan was killed on Monday as Pakistani troops opened fire and lobbed mortar shells at forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

The heavy Pakistani firing and shelling were reported along the LoC in Poonch district's Krishna Ghati sector and Rajouri's Nowshera sector, and along the IB in Kathua district, the officials said.

New Delhi, Jun 22 (PTI) In his first remarks on the Ladakh face-off, former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said PM Narendra Modi must be mindful of the implications of his words and cannot allow China to use them as a vindication of its position.

Noting that disinformation is no substitute for diplomacy or decisive leadership, Singh called upon the prime minister to ensure justice for soldiers who died defending India's territorial integrity.

Nagpur, June 21 (PTI) A 50-year-old businessman from Nagpur in Maharashtra allegedly committed suicide by hanging at his residence on Sunday due to financial distress caused by lockdown, police said.

The deceased Upendra alias Uppi Tarachand Mahadule ran catering business and also owned a grocery shop and a godown in the city, an official said.

In a suicide note purportedly written by him, Mahadule cited financial distress as the reason behind taking the extreme step, he said.

New Delhi, June 21 (PTI) The Supreme Court came to the rescue of a man by transferring the dowry death case of his daughter from Uttar Pradesh's Unnao to Tis Hazari here, taking note of his plea which said the accused were politically influential persons.

The plea in the top court alleged that victim Jyoti Singh died of bullet injuries at her matrimonial home in Unnao on May 14, 2019 and the Uttar Pradesh Police has been "portraying the murder case as a suicide".

Patna, Jun 21 (PTI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, making a case for imposing censorship on content available on streaming platforms, insisting that criminal activities are on the rise due to obscene and violent depictions in shows.

Kumar said incidents of crime are increasing against women and children because of the "negative impact" on the minds of people due to their exposure to such programmes.

Lalitpur (UP) June 22 (PTI) A debt-ridden farmer allegedly committed suicide by consuming a poisonous substance in Jakhora town here, police said on Monday.

Kure Ahirwar, 40, consumed the poisonous substance on Sunday afternoon and was rushed to a nearby government hospital, where he died during treatment, they said.

The family members of Ahirwar said that he was facing financial problems and had also taken a loan of Rs 2.50 lakh last year for the marriage of his daughter.

New Delhi, June 22 (PTI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday left for a three-day visit to Russia during which he will hold talks with top Russian military brass and attend a grand military parade in Moscow to mark the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Germany in the Second World War.

It is the first visit abroad by a senior union minister in four months as foreign travels were restricted in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

Kottayam (Ker), Jun 22 (PTI) A 51-year old Catholic priest was found dead in a well in the premises of his church in Kottayam district on Monday, police said here.

Fr George Ettuparayil, serving as vicar of St Thomas Church, Punnathura near here, was found dead in the well during an investigation launched by the police on the basis of a missing complaint on Sunday night.

Police sought the assistance of the Fire department to fish out the body from the well.

New Delhi, Jun 22 (PTI) In a scathing counter-attack on Manmohan Singh, BJP president J P Nadda said on Monday that he as prime minister "abjectly surrendered" hundreds of square kilometres of India's land to China and presided over 600 incursions made by the neighbouring country between 2010 and 2013.

New Delhi, June 22 (PTI) India on Monday added 14,821 new COVID-19 cases pushing the infection tally to 4,25,282, while the death toll rose to 13,699 with 445 new fatalities, according to Union Health Ministry data

The country crossed the four lakh-mark on Sunday eight days after recording three lakh COVID-19 cases and has witnessed a surge of 2,34,747 infections from June 1 till 22