"When I asked my son if he was tortured, he said, 'They were hardly going to treat me with love...They used to make us memorize the police version of the case. We were not allowed to sleep until we could recite that version.' " These words by Nisar Ahmed are an excerpt from the106-page report released yesterday, by Human Right Watch titled, "The 'Anti-Nationals': Arbitrary Detention and Torture of Terrorism...

Deputy election commissioner Vinod Zutshi is expected to visit Bengal on Wednesday, the third such trip in less than a month by the poll panel, which described the move as “rare, if not unprecedented”. During his three-day trip, Zutshi will meet the district authorities to “inspect the progress” in implementing the recommendations of an observer team that toured the state earlier this month. Zutshi is also expected to meet state government officials...

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...

Hundreds of thousands of government workers in India are protesting against the brutal killing of an official in the western state of Maharashtra. Yashwant Sonawane was burnt to death while investigating a fuel racket. Nine people have been arrested in connection with Tuesday's murder which has shocked people across India. Mr Sonawane's death is being blamed by the government on the so-called fuel mafia - criminals who steal petrol and mix it with...

Nearly a dozen Dalit families have left this village in the last 15 days as last year's violence in Mirchpur has come back to haunt them. It was here that a 70-year-old and his physically-challenged daughter were killed in an attack by the dominant Jat community. The fear of violence from Jats, who have over the past 12 days staged protests demanding the release of those arrested for the incident in...