-The Hindustan Times The anticipatory bail petition of RTI activist Manoj Kumar Karwasra was dismissed on Friday by additional sessions judge, Hisar, Sant Parkash. Karwasra had been booked under IPC sections 419, 420 and 120-B on the complaint of BS Rana, president, St Sophia School Education Society. Karwasra allegedly misused BPL card of JEEt Ram to seek information under the RTI Act, as BPL card-holders can seek information free of cost. Police...

-The Telegraph   If you are still not wearing such handcuffs in Bengal, Subha Nava Varsha and read on... Calcutta, April 13: A Jadavpur University professor and a 72-year-old retired engineer have been arrested for allegedly circulating clips of an Internet joke about chief minister Mamata BanerJEE and charged with trying to outrage her modesty. Fittingly, the police crackdown got off the ground 40 minutes past the appointed hour for the dreaded midnight knock. The...

-The Hindu The Campaign Against Sex Selective Abortion (CASSA) has submitted a memorandum to political parties and the State government seeking steps to improve the child sex ratio and sex ratio at birth. Representatives of the CASSA, Human Rights Foundation and Centre for Child Rights Development, met mediapersons here on Tuesday to explain their demands. “In 2001, the mortality rate for girl children was high in 11 districts. Despite the Pre-Conception and...

-The Deccan Herald Debal Deb has conserved around 700 species of rice   Government spends millions of dollars on developing one variety of rice where as thousands of traditional varieties are pushed under the carpet, said Agricultural scientist Debal Deb. He was addressing media persons after releasing a documentary Agricultural scientist ‘Pearls of wisdom’, narrating stories of farmers and agricultural scientists involved in conserving native varieties of rice. “There are farmers who have conserved traditional...

A Union Home Ministry's proposal for amendments to the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act is pending with the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), P. Chidambaram said on Saturday, a day after the United Nations Special Rapporteur asked India to repeal the law, arguing that it had no place in a democracy. Answering questions at his monthly press conference, he said his Ministry had sought three amendments. “These pertain to three sections…” He...