Five terrorists from the Lashkar-e-Tayiba who recently infiltrated into Jammu and Kashmir were killed in an encounter on Friday, police said. The encounter took place at Sumblar area in north Kashmir's Bandipora district. Police said the five had crossed the Line of Control recently and were on their way to other parts of the Valley.

And it's confirmed, India calls off the meeting between External Affairs Minister and Pakistani Foreign Minister that was scheduled to take place in New York later this month on the sidelines of UNGA.

As the equity market plunged for the fourth day in a row, where the BSE benchmark index plummeted over 1,100 points in afternoon trade Friday, investor wealth witnessed an erosion of a whopping Rs 5.6 lakh crore in four days.


The 30-share index cracked 1,127.58 points, or 3 per cent, to hit an intra-day low of 35,993.64 Friday. It, however recovered most of the losses within minutes of the fall.


There were wild swings in the market, with the BSE Sensex finally settling at 36,841.60, down 279.62 points or 0.75 per cent. Following the weak sentiment, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies slumped Rs 5,66,187.15 crore to Rs 1,50,70,832 crore Friday. From the 30-share pack, 17 stocks ended with losses led by YES Bank, which crashed 28.71 per cent, dragging the benchmark index. -- PTI

The Kerala government on Friday assured that justice will be done and the culprit will not be spared in the alleged nun rape case.


Speaking to the media, Kerala's Minister for Industries and Sports EP Jayarajan said, "Probe is on the correct path. This government won't save any culprit but ensure complete safety to women. We are with the victim. The investigation is being conducted sincerely. No culprit will be allowed to escape."


Earlier today, the Kerala Police said that they will take a call on the arrest of Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who allegedly raped the nun, after his interrogation.


Speaking to ANI, Kottayam Superintendent of Police, Harisankar said, "After interrogation, we will decide whether to go forward with his arrest or not. I can't say if the arrest will be made today."


Mulakkal appeared before a Special Investigation Team of the Kochi Police for the third day on Friday. He reached the Crime Branch (CID) office in Thrippunithura this morning and was quizzed by a five-member team headed by Vaikom Deputy Superintendent of Police K Subhash over the nun's allegations.


The senior Catholic priest, who was in charge of the Jalandhar diocese, was temporarily relieved of his pastoral duties by Pope Francis yesterday. The move came days after he wrote to the Pope, expressing his desire to 'temporarily step aside' from the responsibilities of the diocese, allowing him time to fight his case. -- PTI


Image:  Members & workers of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha protest against rape accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal, outside the Crime Branch office in Kochi where he was interrogated by a 5-member team for the third day today.

And finally some good news in the financial sector: Credit rating agency Fitch raises India's 2018/19 GDP growth forecast to 7.8 per cent from 7.4 per cent. Details awaited.

India Today reports that India is likely to call off the meeting between foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York later this month. However, there is as yet no formal announcement from the Ministry of External Affairs on this.


The news if confirmed, comes after the killing and mutilation of a BSF jawan at the border yesterday.  Following an attack by Pakistani forces on Tuesday, head constable Narender Kumar was found with multiple bullet injuries and gashes that suggested his throat was slit and an attempt was made to gouge his eyes out, say reports.


India has insisted that the talks were in no way a resumption of dialogue between the nations that was suspended in 2015.  The Swaraj-Qureshi meeting will be the first engagement at this level since January 2016 when New Delhi halted the dialogue with Islamabad in the aftermath of Pathankot terror attack, for which India holds Pakistan-based groups responsible.

Indo-Pak ties have nose-dived since then in view of a number of terror strikes by Pakistan-based groups, which India retaliated by carrying out 'surgical strikes' in September 2016 across the LoC.

Disputing claims over the Rs 57 lakh raised by an NGO to help the family of a 27-year-old man who died while manually cleaning a sewer line at a residential apartment in Dwarka area of Delhi have triggered confusion.


The NGO had decided to raise the money after a photograph of a boy grieving next to Anil's body had gone viral on social media. Anil died on September 14 after he slipped when descending into the 20-feet deep sewer as the rope tied around his waist snapped and he went into a free fall. In the photograph shared widely by social media users, the boy, believed to be Anil's son, was seen grieving next to his body. The photograph moved netizens and NGO Uday Foundation launched a campaign to help Anil's family. However, his sister Geeta said Anil never married and the woman, who has claimed that she is his wife and mother to the boy seen in the photograph and two other children, is Anil's maternal aunt.


"There is some foul play in his death. The woman who claims to be his wife is actually our mausi. Her husband lives in Mumbai and Anil had been living with her for close to three years. He was never married but used to treat her kids as his own children," Geeta told PTI.


Geeta claimed Anil was in a live-in relationship with his maternal aunt. She said she is ready to share the money raised by the NGO with their mausi.


Anil and his maternal aunt had a biological son who died of pneumonia four months ago, a member of the NGO said. "We are deeply pained. The children were adopted by Anil and he had raised them as his own. The children are in a vulnerable condition. We will take a collective decision on the funds raised through the social media campaign," said Yashwant Deshmukh, one of the founding members of the foundation. -- PTI

Weakness in the rupee does not offer a sufficient alibi for a rate hike and the Reserve Bank may go for a status quo at the policy review next month, a Japanese brokerage said Friday. The markets have priced in tightening as well, but it is unlikely to materialise, Nomura said in a report. "Because of the RBIs inflation-targeting mandate, currency weakness in itself may not provide a sufficiently strong argument for rate hikes," its economists said. -- PTI

At least 71 children have died in past 45 days at a government-run district hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich.


Speaking to ANI, the hospital's medical superintendent, DK Singh, confirmed the deaths and said, "A large number of children were admitted to the hospital and 71 died in the past 45 days. Children have died due to various diseases."


Singh also stated that people from the nearby villages admit their children to the hospital for treatment, but due to limited facility, the hospital authorities face a lot of problems.


"We have 200 beds but currently, 450 patients are admitted here. The workload is very high. We are trying our best to save as many lives as we can," he said.


The incident comes a year after 60 infants died in Gorakhpur's Baba Raghav Das Medical College, allegedly due to lack of oxygen supply. The hospital authorities, however, denied this claim and said that the infants died due to encephalitis. -- ANI


Image: The hospital has 200 beds but 450 patients have been admitted, says the medical superintendent. 

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Friday asked whether the University Grants Commission would "dare" to celebrate November 8, the day when demonetisation was announced in 2016, as 'surgical strike day'.


His remarks came in reference to the University Grants Commission directive on Thursday to varsities and higher educational institutions across the country to observe September 29 as 'surgical strike day'.


India had carried out surgical strikes on September 29, 2016, on seven terror launch pads across the LoC with the Army saying its special forces inflicted "significant casualties" on terrorists preparing to infiltrate from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.


"UGC directs VC's of all universities to celebrate 29th September as Surgical Strike Day. Is this meant to educate or to serve BJP's political ends?" Sibal tweeted.


"Will UGC dare celebrate 8th November as Surgical Strike Day depriving the poor of their livelihoods? This another jumla!" the former Union minister said. HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar Friday said that the UGC communication is "patriotism not politics", and it is not compulsory for institutes to organise it. -- PTI

Two days after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat pitched for early construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the Shiv Sena Friday acknowledged his commitment, but questioned the commitments of the "politicians" towards the cause.


Attacking BJP chief Amit Shah, the Shiv Sena said he speaks with confidence about the Bharatiya Janata Party ruling the country for 50 years, but "refrains" from commenting on the issues of scrapping Article 370 of the Constitution, that gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and the Ram temple.


The BJP's carping ally, in the editorial of its mouthpiece 'Saamana', asked the Narendra Modi government to take "seriously" the issue of constructing Ram temple in Ayodhya after Bhagwat's comments.


The Uddhav Thackeray-led party, however, opined that the temple issue has been reduced only to a poll promise and therefore, has become a topic for ridiculing Hindutva. Bhagwat, speaking at an event of the RSS Wednesday in New Delhi, pitched for early construction of Ram temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.


"Ram Mandir should be built at the earliest," he had said. "The position taken by the RSS chief on the issue of the (Ram) temple is of commitment. But has there left even an iota of that commitment in the inner hues of (among) politicians?" the Shiv Sena asked.  -- PTI

The Home Ministry Friday said no policeman has resigned in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of the killing of three police personnel by terror group Hizbul Mujahideen. Reports have appeared in a section of media that some special police officers (SPOs) in Jammu and Kashmir have resigned, but the state police force has confirmed that these reports are "untrue and motivated", the ministry said in a statement. "These reports are based on false propaganda by mischievous elements," it said.


"There are over 30,000 SPOs and their services are reviewed from time to time. Some mischievous elements are trying to project that those SPOs whose services are not renewed due to administrative reasons, have resigned," the home ministry said.


The three policemen were abducted from their homes in south Kashmir's Shopian district and shot dead in cold blood by the Hizbul Mujahideen, police said. PTI

Flying straight to Sikkim is soon going to be a reality as the Himalayan state has got its first ever airport.


The Pakyong Airport is a Greenfield airport near Gangtok, which would not only promote tourism and open up opportunities for the Sikkimese people, but will also provide airlift facility during emergencies and disasters.


The airport now circumvents the need for a five-hour journey through mountainous roads and brings citizens of Sikkim closer to the state capital, Gangtok. But, how challenging was it for the Airports Authority of India to put the tiny hilly state on the aviation map of the country?


Pakyong Greenfield Airport project was unique and challenging. There were steep slopes on the project site, the region receives high rainfall and there were existing water channels along the project site.


The team at the AAI came up with innovative solutions. A 'Cut and Fill' method was used to ensure that the same material cut from the uphill side was used to fill the downhill side, eliminating waste and also reducing cost.Environment-friendly reinforcements like Gabyon and Geo-grids were used to ensure a stable and long lasting fill reinforcement. The existing water streams were smoothly channeled under the airport with no impact on the water flow.

Pakyong Airport boasts of the highest environment-friendly retaining wall in Asia and is one of the finest engineering feats of the AAI. -- ANI

When a few local journalists in UP's Aligarh district received a call from police around 6.45am on Thursday, they did not know what to expect. To their surprise, a cop on the phone asked them to reach Machua village under Harduaganj police station if they were interested in "watching and filming a real encounter'.


The news spread like wildfire and within 15 minutes, an entire troop of local and national journalists lined up at the site, roughly 25km from the district headquarters.


On their arrival, the scribes saw a team of policemen, some of them armed with bulletproof jackets and a few others clad in their uniforms or even Tshirts, initially corner and then gun down two men -- Mustakim and Naushad -- "armed and hiding' in an abandoned irrigation department building. Read the full report here.

Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar reacts to criticism on the UGC circular asking universities to celebrate September 29 as Surgical Strike Day.


Speaking to ANI the minister said, "On 29th September (anniversary of the surgical strike), we have asked colleges, those who want to, to arrange a lecture by ex-army officers who can tell the students how defence forces defend the country and how the surgical strike was conducted.

"We have not made any compulsions on institutions or students. We have issued a program because of suggestions from many students and teachers that they need to commemorate the second anniversary of surgical strike. There is no politics, it is only patriotism."


The HRD ministry now says the circular is only an advisory and not mandatory.


The University Grants Commission had issued a circular to vice chancellors of all universities with a list of activities which maybe undertaken on 29th September following the Govt of India's decision to celebrate it as 'Surgical Strike Day'.


West Bengal will not celebrate the day. The state education minister Partha Chatterjee criticised the BJP-led central government for trying to "malign and politicise" the Army.


"This is an agenda of the BJP and it is trying to push this agenda by using the UGC ahead of elections. It is a matter of shame that they are using the UGC to achieve their political agenda," Chatterjee said.


Kapil Sibal, who had held the HRD ministry in the UPA government said, "It is absolutely shocking. In fact, I don't think since independence, we have seen UGC giving any kind of directive of this nature to universities. For UGC, to give a directive is destroying the very independence of the university system."

On September 29 in 2016, the Indian Army carried out "surgical strikes" on seven terrorist launchpads across the LoC as a response to an attack on its base in Uri earlier that month. The Indian Army had said its special forces inflicted "significant casualties" on terrorists waiting there to cross onto the Indian territory.


Read: Revealed: How the surgical strikes ops unfolded

Six cops have resigned after three policemen were found dead in an orchard in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district, Friday. The three cops had been abducted by terrorists from their homes in the early hours of the morning, police said. A Twitter handle purportedly belonging to the Hizbul Mujahideen group has claimed responsibility for the incident. Security agencies also believe that Hizb militants are behind the killings.


The shock news of the brutal killings of the three men prompted two of the six police personnel to issue video messages announcing their resignation from the force.


The slain policemen were identified as constable Nissar Ahmed and two special police officers, Firdous Ahmed and Kulwant Singh. They were kidnapped early this morning from their homes at Batagund and Kapran villages, a police official said.


He said security forces launched intensive search operations to rescue the abducted men but terrorists shot them dead. The bodies were recovered from an orchard at Wangam.


"We have lost three of our brave colleagues in a barbaric terror strike. Our tribute to the three martyred jawans... ," a police spokesperson said. "We condemn this inhuman act and assure that all the culprits shall be dealt under law," he added.


Police said the residents of Batagund village chased the terrorists and pleaded with them to not abduct the men. The abductors fired shots in the air and threatened the villagers, officials said. The terrorists crossed a river in the area and shot dead the policemen, the officials added.


The killings are believed to have triggered panic in the lower ranks of the police department. "My name is Irshad Ahmad Baba and I was working as a constable in the police. I have rendered my resignation...," said one of them in a video being widely circulated on social media.


Tajalla Hussain Lone, an SPO, said he had resigned from the police department on September 17 and was issuing the video to put to rest any doubts that he had done so. Police officials refused to comment on the resignations, saying they would verify the information.


Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo has several times warned local policemen, especially SPOs, to resign from the force, saying that the government was using them.


Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti expressed her outrage on Twitter. "Three more policemen have lost their lives to militant bullets. Outrage, shock & condemnation will be expressed by all of us on expected lines. Unfortunately, it brings no solace to the families of the victims," she said. The Centre's muscular policy, she added, was not working at all with the rise in kidnapping of police personnel and their families. "Dialogue, the only way forward seems to be a distant dream for now," she tweeted.


Image: A wreath laying ceremony of police personnel Nisar Ahmad, Firdous Kuchay and Kulwant Singh who were kidnapped by terrorists in south Kashmir's Shopian and were later found dead today.  Pic: ANI

The Kerala Police on Friday said that they will take a call on the arrest of Bishop Franco Mulakkal, who allegedly raped a nun, after his interrogation.


Speaking to ANI, Kottayam Superintendent of Police, Harisankar said, "After interrogation, we will decide whether to go forward with his arrest or not. I can't say if the arrest will be made today."


Mulakkal appeared before a Special Investigation Team of the Kochi Police for the third day on Friday. He reached the Crime Branch (CID) office in Thrippunithura this morning and is being quizzed by a five-member team headed by Vaikom Deputy Superintendent of Police, K Subhash, over the nun's allegations.


The senior Catholic priest, who was in charge of the Jalandhar diocese, was temporarily relieved of his pastoral duties by Pope Francis, yesterday.


The move came days after he wrote to the Pope, expressing his desire to 'temporarily step aside' from the responsibilities of the diocese, allowing him time to fight his case.


The nun had accused Mulakkal of raping her 13 times between 2014 and 2016. The bishop, however, refuted the allegations, terming them "baseless and concocted".  -- ANI

Shares of Jet Airways continued to fall for the second straight session Friday, tumbling 8 per cent amid concerns over Income Tax officials conducting survey of its premises. After a weak opening, shares of the company further plunged 8 per cent to Rs 224.70 -- its 52-week low -- on BSE. At NSE, shares of the company slumped 7.11 per cent to hit a one-year low of Rs 225.85. The stock had fallen nearly 4 per cent Wednesday also.  -- PTI

The Congress in Chhattisgarh has hit out at Mayawati-led BSP for allying with former chief minister Ajit Jogi's party for the upcoming state assembly election and claimed the pre-poll tie-up has the support of the ruling BJP.


The Congress was hoping for an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party to take on the BJP in upcoming polls. It said the BSP has allied with Jogi, an ex-Congressman, as it was facing heat from central government agencies. The Congress said the alliance between the BSP and Jogi's Janta Congress Chhattisgarh has the support of the BJP, which is ruling the state since 2003. The alliance between the BSP and the JCC was announced in Lucknow Thursday by Mayawati, who said Jogi will be its chief ministerial candidate. According to her, the BSP will contest 35 seats and the JCC 55 in the 90-member House. "Pressure from the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate on the BSP has led to the creation of this alliance. "This alliance had been formed with the BJP's support and the people of the state had an understanding of it," state Congress chief Bhupesh Baghel said Thursday. He claimed the BSP had been fielding candidates on the direction of the BJP in all elections in the state so far. -- PTI

Cyclonic storm 'Daye' is likely to cause damage to the road, rail and communication channels in various districts of Odisha, India Meteorological Department, Bhubaneswar said on Friday.


The IMD has predicted damage to the thatched hut, roads, crops and minor damage to power and communication lines in Gajapati, Ganjam, Khordha, Nayagarh and Puri districts. It has also advised the fishermen not to venture into waters of northwest Bay of Bengal and Odisha coast for next 24 hours.


The IMD stated that storm surge of about 0.5 meter above astronomical tides is expected to inundate the low lying area of districts of Gajapati, Ganjam, Khurda, Puri of Odisha in next three hours.


According to the IMD, after crossing the Odisha coast and adjoining north Andhra Pradesh coast, the cyclonic storm will move towards west-north-west direction and will gradually weaken into a deep depression in next six hours.


The cyclonic storm has caused heavy rains along with the high-speed wind in various parts of the region since Saturday night.


Taking stock of the situation, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik reviewed the preparedness and directed concerned departments to take required action. Leave of government officials in five districts of Ganjam, Gajapati, Khordha, Nayagarh and Puri has also been cancelled.


Bishnupada Sethi, Special Relief Commissioner, Odisha, told ANI that people from low-lying areas were evacuated last night and kept at shelters. "No person has been injured or dead. Malkangiri has received very heavy rainfall in the last 24 hours and two villages and colonies have been affected. Reports of a  landslide in Chitrakonda area, as well.


He said the situation is normal across Odisha, except for Malkangiri. The CM has sanctioned a gratuitous relief of Rs 60 a day per person and Rs 45/per day for children below 12 for seven days.



Image: A man wades through floodwaters in Poteru village of Malkangiri district. Pic: ANI

For all Sacred Games' fans -- Netflix Inc. has just announced the much awaited second season of original series, Sacred Games.


The second season picks up from Sartaj Singh (Saif Ali Khan) pursuing his relentless battle of saving the city and Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) facing bigger challenges to retain his position as the legendary kingpin of Mumbai. The intriguing Guruji (Pankaj Tripathi), introduced in season one as Gaitonde's 'third father,' plays a pivotal role in unfolding a chain of events that shape the next season - which is scheduled to film in India and locations overseas this fall.


Based on author Vikram Chandra's best-selling novel, season 1 of the series received viewer appreciation and critical acclaim worldwide for its gritty plot and power-packed performances. Season 2 will be back with a new trail of betrayal, crime, passion, and a thrilling chase through Mumbai's underbelly. The games are about to get deadlier!

Kerala: Rape accused ex-Bishop Franco Mulakkal has been brought to Crime Branch office in Kochi where he will be interrogated by a 5-member team for the third day today.


On Wednesday, the Mulakkal who has resigned as the bishop of Jalandar, arrived at the CID in Kochi where he was interrogated by a 5-member team led by Vaikom Dy SP K Subhash. A day earlier, the clergyman, accused of raping a nun, had filed an anticipatory bail petition in the Kerala High Court claiming allegations against him were a "cooked up story to wreak vengeance".


The Kerala High Court adjourned the hearing of the application for September 25 when it will hear the police version.

Official media say Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang has died at age 61 due to illness: The Associated Press

The three policemen abducted by terrorists last night from Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, have been killed, say reports. Two of the men were Special Police Officers and one was a constable.


The reports about the abductions have come nearly three weeks after terrorists had abducted and released relatives of policemen from various places in south Kashmir. At least eight people whose relatives worked in Jammu and Kashmir Police were abducted on the night of August 30.


Hizbul Mujahideen commander Riyaz Naikoo had purportedly claimed responsibility for the abductions in a 12-minute video, issuing a three-day deadline for the release of all relatives of terrorists who were in police custody.


The August 30 abductions happened after the NIA arrested the second son of globally-wanted terrorist Syed Salahuddin, leader of the Hizbul Mujahideen group. Salahuddin's son was arrested on charges of receiving secret funds. -- PTI


Image: A file pic of constable Saleem Shah, who was abducted and then killed by terrorists in June.

Political activists from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir have expressed concerns over growing extremism and terrorist activities in the region during an event on the sidelines of the 39th Session of the UN Human Rights Session in Geneva.


Shaukat Ali Kashmiri, exiled chairman of United Kashmir People's National Party, said, "PoK has remained a hub of terrorism for decades. Pakistan's agencies have created terrorists' infrastructure in the area to carry out terrorist activities in other parts of the Kashmir. It has become a launching pad. We have complete information that Pakistan has not changed its policies, it is merely statements by them to mislead the international community, but terrorist camps are running under the patronage of state of Pakistan."


Another human rights activist from PoK, Dr Shabir Choudhry, said, "They have got a license to intimidate and frighten people. If need to be, they kill them."


"Now, with the new government in Pakistan, the situation is going to be bad to worse because of Imran Khan. Although he went to Oxford, going to Oxford doesn't make any difference. He is called as `Taliban Khan' because a man who can give Rs. 30 crore from the official budget of the KPK to madrasas, which is known as Taliban university, you can see how much he has given unofficially. And how much support he is giving it to these fundamentalist groups, whose duty is to kill or convert people," he added.


Several political activists have highlighted the issues concerning the people of PoK, who have been facing persecution by Islamabad. The construction of Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project on River Neelum has created environmental issues and severe water crisis in the capital Muzaffarabad.


Image: PoK residents hold protest rally against atrocities committed by the Pakistani Army.

At least 11 lions have died at Gir forest's East division in last few days, forest department officials said on Friday. The sudden deaths of these lions have prompted the state government to initiate an investigation into the matter.


Speaking to ANI, Hitesh Vamja, veterinary forest officer of Gir Forest West said, "Most of the lions have died due to the lung infection. It was found that in some of them, the infection had also spread to other organs leading to death."


"There is no need to worry as the forest department officials have taken necessary measures to prevent the spread of this air-borne disease to the remaining lions. We have vaccinated them to boost their immunity against the disease," he said.

A terrorist was gunned down by the security forces after an encounter broke out in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir. The identity of the killed terrorist is yet to be ascertained.


The terrorist was killed after a long gunfight which broke out in the forest area of Sumlar in Bandipora on Thursday afternoon. The security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in the area to nab the terrorists, following which the encounter broke out. The search operation in the forest area is underway.  -- ANI


Representational image.

Continuing its uptrend, the rupee firmed by another 53 paise to trade at over a two-week high of 71.84 against the US dollar in early trade Friday at the Interbank Foreign Exchange on increased selling of the American currency by exporters and banks.


Besides, the dollar's weakness against some currencies overseas on easing trade war concerns and a higher opening of the domestic equity market supported the rupee, forex dealers said.


On Wednesday, the rupee had gained 61 paise, notching up its best single-day gain since March 2017 to close at 72.37 against the US currency supported by heavy dollar selling by banks and weakness in the greenback in global markets.


Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex recovered by 231.40 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 37,352.62 in morning trade. -- PTI