-IANS A fast track court in Odisha Tuesday acquitted a top Maoist leader's wife in a 2003 shootout case for lack of evidence, sources said. Her release was sought by the rebels in exchange for an Italian who has been held captive by them since last month.  The fast track court at Gunpur in Rayagada district acquitted Subhashree Das, wife of Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda, who was behind last month's abduction of...

The agitation against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant can be seen as a case of activism gone berserk. The high-octane drama against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu has wound down. The seven-month-long agitation led by the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) at Idinthakarai village in Tirunelveli district, demanding the closure of the ready-to-be commissioned project, ended on March 27 when S.P. Udayakumar, PMANE convener, called off...

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which went through 2,097 cases of killing of youth and mass cremation of their bodies by the Punjab police during the peak of militancy in the State, has ordered a relief of Rs.27.94 crore to the families of 1,513 victims of such extra-judicial killings. The remaining bodies were not identified. When the terrorism was at its peak during 1984-1996 in the State, police personnel, whether...

-The Times of India   The court of additional sessions judge Vinay Joshi on Tuesday released 48 farmers on a regular bail after they were arrested in connection with the Maval firing case recently.  The farmers were released on a personal bond of Rs 7,500 with one surety of the like amount each. The court directed the police to give written intimations to the farmers whenever they were called for interrogation. The farmers were...

Idinthakarai: The agitation against the Koodankulam nuclear plant has lost its intensity and sense of direction following the withdrawal of an indefinite fast, a move forced on the protesters after the Tamil Nadu government withdrew its tacit support to them.   The indefinite fast at Idinthakarai had seen mass participation but on Monday, when a relay hunger strike begins, it will involve only a few dozen people. The protesters are as frustrated...