-The Indian Express Kannur: Seven years after Bitihotra Mohanti alias Bitti jumped parole following conviction in the rape of a German national in Rajasthan, he was arrested from Kannur in Kerala on Friday night, bringing to an end one of the longest hunts for a fugitive in the country. The son of former Orissa DGP B B Mohanti, Bitti had been sentenced to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment by a fast-track court for...

-Outlook The rot runs deep and cuts across states As expected, the farm loan waiver scam has hit the spotlight, with the Comptroller and Auditor General’s critical report being released in Parliament. Given the intense political grandstanding on display, many think this report (on the gaps in the implementation and monitoring of the Rs 52,275-crore scheme) has the potential to be a major political embarrassment for the UPA ahead of the...

-The Hindu Verdict wrongly held that even terror activities would amount to political movement: West Bengal The Supreme Court has stayed a Calcutta High Court judgment directing West Bengal to treat arrested members of the Banned Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) as “political prisoners” by declaring the outfit a “political movement.” A Bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Desai was acting on the State government’s appeal challenging the rationale of the August...

-The Hindu Promises a law soon to curb crime against women Gohana: United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Friday used the opportunity of inauguration of the first women’s Government Medical College of independent India at Khanpur Kalan here on the occasion of International Women’s Day to reiterate the need to take concrete steps to curb crimes against women and promised a law in this regard soon. Without making a direct reference to...

-Deccan Herald Bangalore: The Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has recommended increasing the age for admission to schools under the RTE quota from the current six years to seven, and reducing the income ceiling to Rs one lakh from Rs 3.5 lakh. The suggestions were made during a workshop organised by the Commission in the City on Saturday. The workshop was organised in accordance with a February 12 High...