In the first instance of Maoists targeting foreigners, two Italian tourists were abducted in the forests bordering Orissa's Kandhamal-Ganjam districts. The Kidnapping came to light late on Saturday night after the Maoists released two men abducted along with the Italians, Bosusco Paolo and Claudio Colangelo.  The Maoists claim the four were kidnapped on March 14. This came to light only after the release of Sontosh Moharana and Kartik Parida with audio...

A young IPS officer who stood in the path of a tractor-trolley carrying illegally mined stones after the driver ignored his calls to stop was crushed to death under the vehicle in Madhya Pradesh yesterday. The death of Narendra Kumar, 30, has blown the lid off entrenched syndicates that cart off natural resources after carving up the mineral-rich regions of the state among themselves with alleged patronage from players belonging to...

At the age of 18, he had allegedly planted as many as 28 bombs in Delhi and NCR, that too single-handedly in all but one instance. Mohammad Amir Khan had, therefore, been implicated in 19 cases, charged with serious offences such as murder and waging war against the government. Yet, after spending 14 years in jail, he was released last month after being acquitted in all but two cases. Though the...

Nine moths after the thrashing it received in the Assembly elections, the CPM leadership has undertaken a purge within. It has dropped 13 of its veterans from the West Bengal state committee, three of them several-term MPs, from key posts on grounds of “anti-party activities” or age and health. Party insiders say the exercise was a reflection of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee asserting himself with the party’s state unit. Such a drive had,...

Concerned over the spate of crimes allegedly for the sake of "honour", a government panel wants a comprehensive standalone law to punish those who kill or harass young couple from exercising their right to choose their partners.  The recommendation for a comprehensive legislation to stop honour killings stems from the recognition of the absence of specific provisions in the Indian Penal Code, which deal with acts of harassment in the name...