Two militants killed in Kashmir
Srinagar, June 21 (IANS): Two militants were killed on Wednesday in a gunfight with security forces in the Kashmir Valley. Police said the Rashtriya Rifles, the Special Operations Group of the police and the Central Reserve Police Force surrounded Pazalpora village in Baramulla district on Tuesday evening following intelligence inputs about the presence of the militants. “As the security forces closed in today, the militants opened fire, triggering an encounter,” a police officer said.
Over 54,000 turn up at Yoga Day in Ahmedabad, set new record
Ahmedabad, June 21 (PTI): The International Yoga Day event held at Ahmedabad’s GMDC ground today entered the Guinness World Records Book with over 54,000 persons, led by Yoga guru Ramdev, participating in it to perform various asanas. As per the government release here, 54,522 people took part in the Yoga Day event at GMDC ground today, beating the earlier record by a margin of over 18,000. Besides, 22 other records, such as the maximum number of Surya Namaskars by one person, were also set during today’s event and certified by the Guinness Book officials.
President urges Indians to make yoga a habit
New Delhi, June 21 (IANS): President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday urged all Indians to turn yoga into a habit in order to lead a healthy life. Kicking off the third edition of the International Yoga Day celebrations at Rashtrapati Bhawan here, Mukherjee said the ancient Indian practice was useful for curing physical as well as mental disorders. The President wished everyone a healthy life and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking the initiative to propose celebration of the International Yoga Day on June 21, which was later accepted by the UN.
NHRC team starts recording statements of SIMI suspects
Bhopal, June 21 (PTI): The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today started recording the statements of some jailed SIMI suspects, days after their relatives moved it alleging that the undertrials were being tortured and forced to chant “anti-Islamic” slogans. They are being beaten up and wrongly confined to the cells despite the fact that they were not convicts, Parvez Alam, advocate of one of the jailed men said. Alam said that 21 SIMI suspects, who are being tried were lodged in the Central Jail. Besides, nine SIMI men have been brought to the prison here from Indore recently. Jail Superintendent Dinesh Nargava, however, denied that ill-treatment was being meted out to the SIMI suspects.
Karnataka waives crop loans of farmers from cooperatives
Bengaluru, June 21 (IANS): The Karnataka government on Wednesday decided to waive crop loans of up to Rs 50,000 availed by over 22 lakh farmers from cooperatives in the state. The decision followed the demand of the opposition to mitigate farmers’ hardship and in order to give them relief from the severe drought of 2016. The waiver would cost the exchequer Rs 8,165 crore. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also urged the Centre to waive crop loans that farmers borrowed from state-run and regional rural banks.
8-year-old falls in pit in Delhi, dies
New Delhi, June 21 (IANS): An eight-year-old boy has died after falling into a rainwater-filled pit in a park here, the city police said on Wednesday. The boy was identified as Khalid from Mangolpuri area, the police said. The accident occurred around 8 p.m. on Tuesday, while Khalid was playing in a park in Avantika area of Rohini. He fell into a rainwater-filled pit in the park, the police added. After almost half an hour, a passer-by saw the child’s body in the pit and informed the police. The police have sent the body for autopsy and a case of negligence has been registered.
