Bhukhan Singh, a close associate of MGNREGA activist Neeyamat Ansari who had been beaten to death on the night of March 2, has been shifted to a government building following "serious threats" to his life. Singh, the co crusader of Ansari, has been put up in a room in the Manika block office amid tight security. He too hails from Jeruwa village like Ansari. Latehar SP Kuldip Dwivedi said the step was...

Sweeping changes in the rules to enforce the law governing foreign contributions can make it easier for the government to put advocacy groups on a tight leash. Easily branded as having a political nature, they will have to run to the home ministry every time they want to receive foreign funds. The rules drafted by the ministry cover NGOs that comment on “political activities” and “habitually” employ common methods of political...

A deafening silence hovers over Jerua three days after firebrand activist Niyamat Ansari was dragged out of his home, beaten up and killed for exposing fraud perpetrated by unscrupulous contractors, possibly in cahoots with maoists, while implementing projects meant to ensure financial empowerment for villagers. Around 150km from the state capital, Jerua is part of Manika block in the maoist hub of Latehar district. The 10-km mud road through dense forests...

People's Union for Civil Liberties leader and paediatrician Binayak Sen on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking bail in a maoist-linked sedition case, in which he has been sentenced to life imprisonment. Sen's petition challenges a February 10 decision of the Chhattisgarh High Court refusing bail during the pendency of his appeal against conviction and sentence. A Raipur additional district and sessions court had on December 24 convicted Sen and Kolkata businessman...

Two aides of economist Jean Drèze were targeted by unscrupulous contractors, suspected to have been backed by maoists, for exposing rampant corruption in the Centre’s flagship rural job scheme in a Latehar village late last night. Niyamat Ansari died after he was beaten up mercilessly by a 12-member gang at Jerua village, 130km from the state capital, but his friend and colleague Bhukan Singh had a narrow escape as he wasn’t...