-The Telegraph A day after land protests rocked Nagri, work at the construction site of three premier educational institutions stalled on Thursday even as villagers demanding “return” of their fertile land blocked the arterial Ranchi-Patratu road a kilometre away, disrupting Hazaribagh-bound traffic from the capital throughout the day. A 100-strong mob, comprising mostly women, used a crane belonging to a contractor, to block the vital artery from 9am. Even heavy rain failed...

-The Guardian  Use of Sodium Pentothal to secure confessions – classified by some as torture – still common in certain regions of India It is the sort of scene that belongs in a film noir, not a 21st-century democracy: an uncooperative suspect being injected with a dose of "truth serum" in an attempt to elicit a confession. But some detectives in India still swear by so-called narcoanalysis despite India's highest court ruling...

-The Telegraph The National Advisory Council is expected to soon release a 35-page document detailing the subjects it took up with the UPA II government and the “success” it achieved with these. The document will also outline the council’s future agenda. Sources in the council, headed by Sonia Gandhi, said the report was ready and merely needed to be ratified by all the members. The endorsement might come as early as tomorrow...

-The Telegraph Ranchi: Land politics took an ugly turn in Nagri today, leaving two dozen people, including a senior police officer, wounded and the future of three elite cradles tense. Disarmed by a recent Supreme Court snub on their claim over 218 “fertile” acres — allotted by the government for IIM, IIIT and NUSRL campuses — villagers armed with bamboo poles and iron rods partially dismantled the boundary walls of the management...

-The Indian Express Mamata pushed the bill through with no heed to Constitution or legal precedent The basic facts are well known by now. West Bengal’s Left Front invited the Tatas to set up a Nano plant in 2006. About 997 acres of mostly agricultural land was acquired. Some farmers sold willingly, others resented it — Violence followed. The Tatas signed a lease, moved in and invested considerably. But low-intensity Violence continued....