India

Mumbai, Apr 10 (PTI) The Maharashtra prisons department has released on bail 3478 prisoners till Friday to reduce crowding in jails due to the coronavirus outbreak, officials said.

These prisoners are serving jails terms of less than seven years, they said.

"While 469 prisoners were released from Arthur Road Jail, 350 were freed from Thane Central, 330 from Taloja Central, 275 from Yerawada, 151 from Amravati, 141 from Nagpur, 118 from Aurangabad Central and 100 from Nashik Central," he said.

Surat, Apr 10 (PTI) Hundreds of migrant workers stuck in Surat amid the lockdown went on a rampage on Friday night, setting many vehicles on fire, police said.

They are demanding that necessary arrangements be made for them to return to their native places and are also seeking quick disbursal of unpaid dues, an official said.

Nashik, April 11 (PTI) A 31-year-old man, who assumed that he contracted coronavirus, allegedly committed suicide in Maharashtra's Nashik city, police said on Saturday.

Pratik Raju Kumavat, a resident of Chehedi area of Nashik Road, allegedly hanged himself from the ceiling of his home on Saturday and left a suicide note stating that he might have contracted coronavirus, an official said.

Kargil, Apr 11 (PTI) The 434-km Srinagar-Leh national highway, considered as the lifeline of the Union Territory of Ladakh, was reopened on Saturday to ferry essential commodities after remaining closed for over four months owing to heavy snowfall along the Zojila Pass.

In view of the coronavirus outbreak, the Ladakh administration on Friday had decided to only allow limited traffic, including trucks and oil tankers, to replenish essential supplies in the cold desert which usually remains cut off from the outside world during the winter months.

Hyderabad, Apr 11 (PTI): With the Telangana government banning spitting in public places in the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic, a police case has been registered here against a man for violating the rule.

During vehicle-checking on Friday, police found the man spitting on the road here and registered a case against him for disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant, police said.

Mumbai, Apr 11 (PTI) With continuous spike in COVID-19 cases, the Maharashtra government on Saturday decided to extend the ongoing lockdown till April 30.

Making the announcement, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said that the lockdown can be relaxed in certain areas while on others it will become stricter.

He also said that the decision on lifting the curbs completely after April 30 will be taken depending upon the prevailing situation.

New Delhi, Apr 11 (PTI) The death toll due to the novel coronavirus rose to 239 and the number of cases to 7,447 in the country on Saturday, according to the Union Health Ministry

While the number of active COVID-19 cases is 6,565, as many as 642 people were cured and discharged and one had migrated, it said

Chennai, Apr 9 (PTI) The Madras High Court has ordered notice to the Centre on a plea to bring about 350 stranded Indians back from Malaysia due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

A special division bench of Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice R Hemalatha issued the notice to the union external affairs ministry on the PIL moved by advocate M Gnanasekar and posted the matter for further hearing after a week.

Bhopal, Apr 9 (PTI) Two junior government doctors, including a woman, have alleged they were beaten up by police personnel who accused them of "spreading coronavirus", leading the authorities to take disciplinary action against a constable and order a probe into the incident on Thursday.

The doctors suffered injuries in the attack, which they said, took place close to AIIMS Bhopal - their workplace - when they were on way to home after duty on Wednesday evening.

New Delhi, Apr 9 (PTI) India on Thursday strongly rejected remarks on Jammu and Kashmir by a spokesperson of China's permanent mission to the United Nations, asserting that the union territory "has been, is and shall continue" to be its integral part.

Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava said India expects China to refrain from commenting on the country's internal affairs and respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.