Srinagar: Three soldiers were killed and another injured after an avalanche in the Machil sector in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district Friday. Reports said the avalanche hit an army post of 21 Rajput at Sona Pandi Gali in Machil about 4:30 pm. An army official said that that the bodies had been recovered. The avalanche struck two days after a 24-hour avalanche warning was issued in several districts of Jammu and Kashmir, including Kupwara, shortly after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake on the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border region jolted parts of north India. Last month, 11 people – including a one-year-old baby – were killed after a vehicle they were travelling in was hit by an avalanche in Kupwara. A Border Roads Organisation engineer, who was also hit by an avalanche in the same area, was recovered but could not be revived.
Bijepur by-poll: BJP candidate files nomination
Bhubaneswar: BJP candidate for Bijepur by-poll Ashok Panigrahi Friday filed nomination papers before the Padampur sub-collector. The election is to be held February 24. State BJP in-charge Arun Singh, president Basant Panda, KV Singhdeo, Pradip Purohit and Suresh Pujari were also present. Panigrahi later told reporters that he expected to win by a margin of over 30,000 votes. Other partly leaders also were positive about the party’s prospects. BJD candidate Rita Sahu is to file her nomination papers February 5, while Congress is yet to announce its candidate for the poll.
Currency racket busted, 1 held
Baripada: The police busted a fake currency racket in Balasore Friday and arrested a man found in possession of fake notes. The racketeers, police said, have been found to have been operating in a belt covering West Bengal to Mayurbhanj. ASP Dinajan Nayak said Sheikh Jamiluddin from Basta was found in possession of 94 two-thousand rupee counterfeit notes and arrested. The police were tipped off about the racket after they nabbed two college students from Basta, Tarun Kumar Jena and Dhananjay Das, who were circulating fake notes at Rasgobindapur market in Mayurbhanj January 30.
Bofors payoffs: CBI challenges HC verdict
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation Friday moved the Supreme Court challenging a 12-year-old Delhi High Court verdict which had discharged the three Hinduja brothers in the Bofors payoff case. It comes 10 days after Attorney General KK Venugopal gave an opinion against filing of an appeal. The CBI decided to move the apex court based on new evidence that has come to its notice in the politically sensitive bribery case that shook the Congress government in the Eighties. On the basis of new evidence, the CBI approached the AG yet again seeking permission to file an appeal. The AG reportedly gave permission orally to the agency to file an appeal. At present an appeal filed by senior counsel, Ajay Aggarwal, against the Delhi High Court’s 2005 order closing the Bofors case is pending before the Supreme Court.
Sensex crashes 840pts; worst rout in two yrs
Mumbai: Benchmark Sensex suffered its worst rout in more than two years Friday as the Budget proposals on taxing equities torpedoed investor sentiment. The 30-share index plummeted 840 points — its biggest single-day slump since August 24, 2015 — while the broader NSE Nifty tanked over 250 points to finish below the 10,800-mark. Investors saw a wealth erosion of more than Rs4.5 lakh crore as stocks went into a free-fall. The Budget 2018-19 presented on Thursday imposed long- term capital gains tax of 10 per cent on equities. Investors will also have to pay 10 per cent tax on distributed income from equity-oriented mutual funds.