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...

The Centre today promised a “comprehensive study” to gauge black money but told the Supreme Court it couldn’t reveal information on such cash stashed abroad because of “confidentiality” clauses in overseas pacts. The government explained its stand in an affidavit in the Supreme Court, which had earlier rapped it for not doing enough to deal with the menace. The National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, the National Institute of Financial Management...

"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...

The 32-member gang has been involved in 15 cases Move to invoke Act comes after killing of Nashik Additional Collector The police have booked a 32-member sand mafia from Nevasa taluk under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). This is the first time the Act has been invoked against a sand mafia in the State, Ahmednagar Superintendent of Police Krishna Prakash told The Hindu. The mafia, led by the absconding Anna...

The countrywide share of corporate retail in food distribution tripled in the past four years when retail food prices showed the greatest increase. THE dramatic increase in food inflation over the past two years has been associated with several surprises. One major surprise has been how the top economic policymakers in the country have responded to it. The initial response was one of apparent disbelief, followed very quickly by the...