Over 300 youths were arrested during the widespread protests across Kashmir following the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru last month, but later many of them were released on bail, police said today.         

 

"Police has arrested 338 in last one month in the valley, out of whom 242 have been released on bail," a police spokesperson said. He said that 96 people are still in police or judicial custody. Around 158 people were arrested in north Kashmir districts of Baramulla, Sopore, Kupwara, Handwara and Bandipora. Among them, 130 were released and only 28 are still in custody, the spokesperson added.         

 

He said districts of Srinagar, Ganderbal and Budgam from central Kashmir, 107 people were arrested. While 47 are still in custody, the rest of them were released.  

A powerful bomb fitted with a time device was recovered from a bus at Popular Bus stand in North Bongaigaon in lower Assam, police said today. The bomb was recovered from the bus coming from Gossaigaon in Kokrajhar district when all the passengers left the vehicle, police sources said.        

 

A bag was noticed by the bus driver Monowar Hussain who on looking inside found the explosive, the sources said. Without wasting time, he bravely snapped all the wires of the bomb connected with a battery and threw it at a corner of the bus stand, the sources said.        

 

Police reached the spot immediately and covered the bomb with a blanket, they said, adding later it was taken to an open field where a bomb squad of the army safely defused it. A piece of paper with 'National Liberation Forces of Bengali' written on it was recovered with the bomb by the police.

The government has received official documents from Italy in connection with the VVIP chopper deal, reports PTI.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel got an early taste of the Afghan political soup at the weekend -- with bitterness a predominant flavour and ladled out in strong measure by President Hamid Karzai. Hagel's denial of dealings with the Taliban was thin gruel. If he and the US are really concerned with Afghanistan's post-withdrawal future, they should let Karzai get on with his job.  

 

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Olympian boxer Vijender Singh is being questioned by Punjab Police personnel over his alleged involvement in Rs 130 crore drug racket.

The family of Ram Singh, one of the accused in the Delhi gang rape case who was found hanged in his jail cell on Monday morning, was warned on Friday that his life might be in danger, one of his brothers said on Monday. Read

The BJP today accepted that its defeat in the local body elections in Karnataka was "alarming" and the party would introspect. But the party also claimed it would spring back in coming Assembly elections.

Asked about the party's debacle in local bodies polls in the state, BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said "we did not win in the local bodies elections. We have lost and this is alarming. We will definitely introspect about it."

The BJP MP recited a poem by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to say that the party remains unfazed in the face of defeat and will strive to gain victory.

"In the assembly elections we will do well and we will win the elections," Hussain claimed. Though BJP put up a brave front, sources said former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's decision to form his Karnataka Janata Party had affected the party's fortunes and led to its rout. BJP leaders claimed the results show that had Yeddyurappa not quit the party, it would have emerged triumphant in these polls.

Update on the murder of Kunda DSP Zia-ul-Haque: The CBI seeks custody of the two accused -- Guddu Singh and Rajeev Singh -- arrested in connection of with the murder.

Earlier in the day, the CBI moved a court in Lucknow seeking to transfer cases from Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh district to the state capital.  It has also set up a camp office at Kunda village and made an appeal for information on the case.

The UP Police have arrested Guddu Singh and Rajiv Singh -- in connection with the killings.

Signs of cracks were visible in the main Opposition, BJP yet again when its senior leader Yashwant Sinha threatened to resign from his Lok Sabha membership on Monday after Ravindra Rai was appointed the new Jharkhand party president. Sinha had made his opposition clear during the morning meeting of the top BJP leaders before the Parliament session. Read the full story here.

Over the past year and a few more we have seen the halo around many a modern-day hero flicker and dim. Rajat Gupta, Lance Armstrong, David Petraeus, Tiger Woods and most recently Oscar Pistorius -- anointed kings of their chosen trade -- have all faltered at the altar. Their crowns have been snatched by the same mobs that once led them to the throne. More

President Pranab Mukherjee landed at Port Louis, Mauritius at 3.30 pm local time. He is on a three-day visit during which he will be the chief guest at the national day celebrations of Mauritius tomorrow. India and Mauritius will also sign several bilateral pacts in social sectors, including health and tourism, during Mukherjee's visit to the Indian Ocean island nation. India and Mauritius enjoy close historical relations and New Delhi has termed the ties as "unique, special and extra ordinary".

In a story straight out of the movies, CNN IBN reports that a rape accused has fled in a government helicopter from Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir. The incident apparently happened not under the cover of darkness, but in full view of senior civil and police officers from Rajouri town on Friday last.

The man is believed to be Mohammad Pervez of Thanda Pani in Manjakote area. CNN IBN said that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has ordered an inquiry into the matter.

The man not only boarded the helicopter for Jammu, but was also paid Rs 5,000 as ex-gratia relief by the district administration.

The state chopper was requisitioned by the district administration to shift people to Government Medical College Hospital at Jammu who had sustained serious injuries in a road accident at Manoorgala in Kandi area the same day. More

The Kerala police today formed a 20-member Special Investigation Team to investigate and collect details about rape case convict Bitti Mohanty after he jumped parole in 2006 while serving a seven-year sentence in Alwar in Rajasthan, till his arrest from here last week.

According to Kannur SP Rahul R Nair, the team headed by DySP K S Sudharshan will gather as much evidence as possible to establish the identity of Bitti, who had been living in Kerala as 'Raghav Rajan' and had secured a job in a public sector bank.

The team will be divided into four squads, each comprising five personnel. Three teams will separately go to Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Odisha to gather details regarding Bitti, as these are the places associated with him.

One of the squads will entirely focus on Bitti's life and activities after he came to Kannur, from where he obtained an MBA degree certificate and got the job as a Probationary Officer in the bank.

Meira Kumar admits that she is capable of losing her temper.This is hard to believe, judging by the composure she has shown in her almost four years as speaker of the Lok Sabha, India's lower house of Parliament, where ruckus is the norm. Read

Also see: Will Meira Kumar be Rahul's Manmohan?

India has spent over Rs 78,000 crore in the last three years for importing weapon systems and military hardware from countries including the US, Russia, Germany, Israel and the United Kingdom, the government today said.

"The expenditure made on import of weapons, equipments during the last three years and the current financial year includes Rs 13,411.91 crore in 2009-10, Rs 15,44.01 crore in 2010-11, Rs 24,193 crore in 2011-12 and Rs 251,26 crore in 2012-13," Defence minister A K Antony told Lok Sabha in reply to a written query.

In the last few years, India has procured several new systems such as P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft, ten new C-17 heavy lift transport aircraft and C-130J Super Hercules aircraft.

The death of one of the men accused in the December gang rape of a young woman in Delhi has raised questions over security at the capital's Tihar Jail, which is often hailed as a model for prison reform. Read

On Twitter: At court after Ram Singh's death, other 4 accused for 1st time do not use woollen scarves, hats to cover their faces, reports Tanima Biswas

BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu today said he has no sympathy for the gang-ape accused who allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail. "If he has committed suicide then I do not have any sympathy. But as the family (of accused) is alleging that it is a murder then it is a different case and inquiry will reveal it," Naidu said outside Parliament.

Ram Singh, one of the accused in the December 16 gang rape of a 23-year-old girl in Delhi, allegedly committed suicide in a high-security cell in Tihar Jail early this morning.

According to jail officials, 33-year-old Singh hanged himself with the help of his clothes from the grills of his cell in Jail No 3 at around 5 am.

Home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde holding a press conference on the alleged suicide of gang-rape accused Ram Singh. Acknowledging that it was a major security lapse on the part of the Tihar jail officials, Shinde said that a magistrate's court will  hold an inquiry into the matter. "However, the preliminary reports suggest that Ram Singh committed suicide," Shinde said. 

Rape convict Bitti Mohanty , who was arrested by Kerala police from Kannur on Saturday after remaining absconding for seven years after he jumped parole in 2006, has been sent to 10 days police custody in Kerala.

Bitti, son of former Orissa director general of police BB Mohanty, was sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment for raping a German woman at Alwar in Rajasthan.

The opposition Congress in Karnataka has forged ahead in the March 7 elections to urban local bodies in the state, for which counting was taken up today. Here is a break-up of seats declared so far. Have a look.

The election was considered as a "semi-final" as Assemblypoll is due in May. The outcome was seen as a pointer to thestate polls and setting the tone for them. In the last elections to ULBs in 2007, out of the total 5007 wards, the Congress had come first winning 1606, followed by JDS 1502 and the BJP 1180.

In a development which could have ramifications on the campaign against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant, police in Tirunelveli has come across a "major suspicious transfer' of Rs 29,98,782 from London to Koodankulam. Read

Union Sports Minister Jitendra Singh today said that appropriate action will be taken against Olympic bronze-medallist Vijender Singh only if the boxer is found guilty in the drug scandal that has rocked Indian boxing.

"At this point of time the investigation is going on by the Punjab Police. When the conclusion comes and somebody is implicated or chargesheeted, we will definitely take action," said Singh.

"The guilty will be punished but that is the matter of Punjab Police. Investigation is being done by the Punjab Police," he added.

Super heavyweight pugilist Ram Singh have already been expelled from the National Institute of Sports after admitting to consuming contraband. Ram, a former national championships medallist, has admitted to experimenting with drugs along with Vijender, who has denied the allegations.

Ram Singh, a boxer and friend of Olympic bronze medalist Vijender Singh, changed his police statement on Sunday as he claimed that both of them had taken food supplements which later turned out to be heroin. Read more

Tihar Jail authorities today submitted a report to the government on the alleged suicide of Ram Singh, one of the accused in the December 16 gang-rape case. The submission of the report to the Union Home Ministry came after it sought details from the prison authorities. "We have submitted the report providing details about the incident," a jail official said. 33-year-old Ram Singh allegedly hanged himself with the help of his clothes from the grills of his cell in Jail No 3 in Tihar Jail this morning

The 10-member CBI team in Kunda, Uttar Pradesh has appealed to villagers to come forward as witnesses in its probe into the murder of senior police officer Zia-ul-Haque, who was shot dead on March 2.

In a press release, the CBI, which has set up a camp office and a helpline number in Pratapgarh, has assured the villagers against any kind of harassment.

The joint director of the CBI is headed to Kunda today. 

A three-member team has been formed to conduct Ram Singh's postmortem at Deen Dayan Hospital in New Delhi. 

CNN IBN says Ram Singh, the prime accused in the gang-rape case used a plastic bucket to reach the grill from where he hung himself, since it around 8-feet high. The four accused are now being provided with psychological assistance.

International Women's Day usually feels like a quaint -- or even hypocritical -- 24-hour attempt to try to make up for a year's worth of outrages against women. But this year it feels different. We are nearing a tipping point. Read why

A lot of young women you have never met are crazy about Durjoy Datta. Mr. Datta, 25, is a writer of romance fiction with a smutty edge, who deals with extreme fandom and total literary obscurity almost simultaneously. Read

On the night of June 28, 2012, the sarpanch, or the elected head of the village council, of Singar village in rural Haryana, his nephew and two other men allegedly abducted a 15-year-old girl. According to the official complaint, The Hindu reported, the four men beat her up and then took turns repeatedly raping her.Two days later, they dropped off the young woman, battered and violated, outside her village, about 70 kilometers (44 miles) from New Delhi. Read more

The father of the prime accused of Delhi's December 16 gang rape and murder case, Ram Singh, on Monday alleged that he was murdered inside the Tihar Central Jail.

Mangelal, the father of 33-year-old driver, said Ram Singh and his brother Mukesh, who too was lodged in the same jail on same charges, had told him a few days ago that they were sodomised by the fellow inmates.

He demanded a probe by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into his son's death.Claiming that Ram Singh could not commit suicide, Mangelal alleged that he had been murdered.

"When the inmates are waken up by 5 am, how could he commit suicide early in the morning," he asked.The elderly man alleged that Ram Singh was often assaulted inside the jail. He was once attacked with a blade, the father alleged. Read more

The alleged suicide of one of the men accused in the gang rape of a woman on a bus in Delhi in December has prompted questions about how Tihar Jail monitors its inmates. Read

Why did the bodies of 110 men suddenly wash up in the river running through Aleppo city in Syria, six weeks ago? Read

Delhi gang-rape accused Ram Singh's suicide might have stirred a hornet's nest sending the media into a tizzy questioning the security measures in Delhi's high security Tihar Jail.  However, prison statistics published by the National Crime Records Bureau show that there are usually over 40 incidents of suicides in jails across the country every year. More

Lone bidder Sistema Shyam (SSTL) bids for eight circles in the 800 MHz spectrum auction. Spectrum auction ends with no bids for Mumbai, Maharashtra and UP East.

Kerala High Court today directed the state government to file a statement regarding details of cases filed by the Suriyanelli rape victim against Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien before the magistrate and higher courts.

However else it is dressed up, the reality is that the world is about to witness a US retreat from Afghanistan, one that can have disastrous consequences for the region.  The opinion piece on the Hindu: Read

The news article dated March 6, 2013, declaring that an Indian schoolgirl in the UK has an IQ higher than Einstein's is likely to draw the attention of parents and educators. The article goes on to claim that young Neha Ramu "is more intelligent that physicist Hawking, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and scientist Einstein'. But are IQ tests the ultimate method of evaluating human potential? Read

The copper flue that rises from two stoves on the floor is in one of the most artful places in the world, but it is hardly a work of art. Pieces of pipe cobbled together with awkward bends are attached to scaffolding that reaches a crude hole in an upper wall just under Michelangelo's famous masterpiece ceiling.  Down below, the two stoves sit on a piece of particleboard floor attached to the ornate marble floor with what looks a lot like gaffer tape. Read

Meanwhile, in a repeat of the Delhi gang-rape horror, a 35-year-old woman was allegedly abducted and gang-raped by six men in a moving car near Akshardham temple, Delhi, on Sunday morning. The incident was reported near Akshardham temple in East Delhi at 10 am, when the woman was walking on the road.

According to police, she was picked up by the accused who were inside a car."One of the men pulled her inside. The six men then took turns raping her. The woman has given us a few names that she heard while she was in the car.

Two men named in the case are accused of raping her in 2012 . Police said the woman has filed three rape cases in the past 12 years.

Lawyers and experts are of the view that trial would proceed in the December 16 Delhi gang-rape case, largely unaffected by the suicide on Monday morning of Ram Singh, prime accused in the case. Experts, however, point out that the suicide shows that the security of prisoners is a matter of concern.

"There is a lapse, obviously. How could he hang himself in prison when there was a guard outside his cell? Definitely that man would be responsible for dereliction of duty, and there will be an inquiry with regard to this incident of 5am which is definitely shocking," senior lawyer Majid Memon said.

"As far as the trials are concerned, his name will have to be struck down from the trial since he is dead, but even then, the trial would proceed," Memon told a TV news channel.

Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit's meeting with the home minister is over. She said the meeting was to discuss general issues and not Ram Singh. The home minister had summoned Dikshit this morning.

Dark humour on Twitter: Ram Singh to be awarded death sentence posthumously.

Here's a backgrounder of Ram Singh on the WSJ. Read

Other reactions: The brother of the 23-year-old Delhi gang-rape victim today told CNN IBN that he was surprised to learn that the prime accused in the case, Ram Singh, had committed suicide in Tihar Jail.

Speaking to CNN IBN, the brother said, that all the accused deserved the death sentence, but "they should be hanged publicly.

"The trial should be completed at the soonest and all the other accused in the case should get the death sentence. I believe the Ram Singh must have felt guilty about the incident. And I don't think we should blame the Tihar jail authorities, if someone wants to commit suicide they will do it."

Ram Singh, the prime accused in the December 16, 2012, Delhi gang- rape-cum murder case, hung himself using his clothes probably his own shirt. Though other report say he hanged himself with a strip of the mat he was sleeping on.

Singh was the driver of the bus in which the 23-year-old physiotherapist student was gang-raped by him and his five associates, including a minor, in south Delhi after brutally beating her and her male friend.

Ram Singh, along with the other four accused, was charged with murder, gang-rape, destruction of evidence, criminal conspiracy, dacoity, unnatural sex and common intent in the case.

The sixth accused is a Juvenile and is in an observation home. While Pawan, 19, and Akshay, 29, are held in Jail No 4, Vinay, 20, and Mukesh, 26, are in Jail No 7.

Journalist Andrew Buncombe tweets: Ram Singh's lawyer, VK Anand: 'Accused met his 5-yr-old son 2 days ago. Seemed very happy. Why would he commit suicide?'

First reactions coming in from murder accused Ram Singh's family. His mother says he would have never committed suicide. Speaking to CNN IBN, his mother says he had confessed to his guilt, so why would he kill himself. He was definitely murdered."

Meanwhile, security has been increased for the other four accused in the gang-rape case, all lodged in Tihar jail. The juvenile accused is in the custody of the juvenile court.

Kiran Bedi, former Tihar Director General, said said only an inquiry will tell under what special watch was he and what happened to that watch. "How did this man give this watch a slip? I think we need to wait for the inquiry," she said. "Where a prison inmate loses hope and knows he has no chance of getting away he does look for opportunities to take his own life inside jail. The enquiry ordered will reveal what kind of e-watch or h-watch (human watch) he was under," she said.

Mamata Sharma, National Women's Commission Chairperson, raised questions about the functioning of Tihar Jail, saying it was "shocking" that the administration could not protect the undertrial and demanded an inquiry. "The question mark is on Tihar," she said.

The suicide of 33-year-old Ram Singh, the prime accused in the December 16 Delhi gang-rape case, has raised questions about the role of authorities who were keeping a watch on him.

Singh was not alone in the cell in Jail Number three of the prisons when he used his clothes to hang himself from the grill early this morning, jail sources said.

A guard was posted outside his cell to keep a watch on him but could not detect the happenings inside the cell.

Other inmates, who were sleeping, also did not know that Singh was hanging himself, they said.

Sources said a Metropolitan Magistrate will inquire into the incident. Singh and other four accused in the case were also under suicide watch -- an alert that the inmates could take extreme step -- since January after they stopped interacting with other inmates.

Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit is to meet home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde over the suicide of Ram Singh in Tihar jail. She was summoned by Shinde for a meeting in the aftermath of the incident this morning.  

Gang-rape prime accused, Ram Singh's lawyer says his client was in good spirits and was happy with the way the trial was going. "He was not under mental stress."
 
However, former Tihar Director General Kiran Bedi said on Monday that only an inquiry will tell under what special watch was Delhi gang rape accused Ram Singh was kept and how he evaded it to commit suicide. Ram Singh committed suicide on Monday around 5 a.m. by hanging himself inside jail number 3 of Tihar Jail.

The incident came to light around in the morning, as Singh was rushed to the jail hospital, but was declared dead on arrival. The body was then sent for postmortem at Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) hospital.

A forensic team has reached the jail to get evidence in this case. "Inquiry will reveal whether this prisoner had suicidal tendencies. Did prison authorities provide a Psychiatrist,' Bedi asked after Singh committed suicide.

She added: "Inquiry has been ordered. Inquiry will tell how this prisoner was assessed. Every prisoner has a suicidal tendency and this tendency can come in anybody. So the guards have to be alert all the time.

In Ram Singh's case, was there any assessment done by the councilor. What happened to the electronic watch and human watch on Ram Singh? How did this man give this watch a slip? I think we need to wait for the inquiry and lessons could be drawn from the report itself.' Tihar jail sources said Ram Singh, the prime accused in the December 16, 2012, Delhi gang rape murder case, hung himself using his clothes probably his own shirt. The incident came to fore when the guard spotted him this morning. Ram Singh was to be produced in Saket court along with other accused in the case today.

President Pranab Mukherjee today left for Mauritius on a three-day visit during which he will be the chief guest at the national day celebrations of that country. Mauritius will celebrate its national day tomorrow. 

South Korean and US troops launched a joint military exercise today as North Korea, which has slammed the drill and threatened both countries with nuclear attack, severed its hotline with Seoul. 

The brother of the Delhi braveheart on Monday said he wasn't shocked by Ram Singh's suicide and didn't blame Tihar Jail authorities. 

CNN IBN reports: The suicide of the main accused in the Delhi gangrape case has raised big questions on the Tihar Jail authorities. Prime accused Ram Singh committed suicide by hanging himself using the clothes that he was wearing inside the Tihar Jail and his body was discovered early on Monday morning at 5.00 am. 

The home ministry has taken cognisance of the death of the main accused in the Delhi gang rape case. 

Was there a history of animosity between the Kunda strongman Raja Bhaiya and the slain DSP Zia-ul-Haq? CNN-IBN has accessed a criminal history sheet that was prepared against Raja Bhaiya by the DSP. Dated September 5, 2012, the criminal record states 47 cases against Raguraj Pratap Singh, aka Raja Bhaiya, since 1991.

Ram Singh, one of the prime accused in the gruesome gang-rape of a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus, allegedly committed suicide in the Tihar Jail on Monday morning. 

Japan today marks the second anniversary of a ferocious tsunami that claimed nearly 19,000 lives and sparked the worst nuclear accident in a generation. The government will host a national ceremony in Tokyo, attended by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, to mourn 15,881 people who died and 2,668 others who remain unaccounted for. 

Barely a fortnight ago, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi delivered a speech to his diehard support base within the BJP, which was intended to fire them up and get them battle-ready.

Ram Singh, one of the prime accused in the gruesome December 16 gang-rape of a 23-year-old girl in a moving bus, allegedly committed suicide in the Tihar Jail this morning.