Twice every year, between 1981 and 2000, a helicopter would whirr around the hills of the Western Ghats in Kasargod, a district in north Kerala bordering Karnataka, spraying endosulfan over the cashew plantations on the upper reaches. Children would rush out to take a look at the helicopter and the white spray would settle like mist on their heads and on leaves and shimmer in the sunlight. But that’s also...

Maharashtra govt launches a massive crackdown on mafia. Two days after Additional Collector Yashwant Sonawane was killed after he intercepted the adulteration of petroleum products, the Maharashtra government launched a massive crackdown on suspected adulterators in the state. Raids were carried out at over 200 locations across Maharashtra and the police have arrested some 180 people. At the Centre, the government announced measures to prevent the adulteration of auto fuels with cheaper...

Lone absconding accused arrested Co-accused produced in juvenile court As 15 lakh State Government Employees and gazetted officers went on strike on Thursday to protest the gruesome killing of Additional Collector of Nashik Yashwant Sonawane, the State government cracked the whip on the oil, sand and milk mafia in the State. “In the last 36 hours, we have arrested 170 persons in raids conducted across the State,” K.P. Raghuvanshi, Additional Director-General of Police,...

In the middle of a debate about corruption in high places, the curse struck in a macabre manner from the base of the pyramid on the eve of the celebration of the republic. An additional collector was burnt alive in daylight by a gang that sprinkled kerosene on him after the 44-year-old officer caught their aides pilfering fuel from a tanker in Maharashtra’s Nashik today. The prime suspect, who has a history...

Ilina Sen, wife of activist Dr Binayak Sen, was on Monday booked by Wardha police for not informing them about the participation of foreign nationals in 13 th National conference for the Indian Association of Women's Studies (IAWS) organized under her supervision at Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University. The four-day conference concluded on Monday. The cops have also booked the in-charge of the accommodation committee of the conference. The offences against...