It's that time of the year when Jharkhand celebrates the Sarhul festival. As saal trees sprout new leaves and blossom in leafless forests, tribals troop to the village saran sthal (place to pray)' to worship nature. White and red-striped flags flutter along a cratered road snaking through Latehar's hilly terrain, from Rajdanda to Barahi. Construction of this road in Latehar's Mahuadanr block, around 120km from Ranchi, began last year. After villagers...

The controversial CD containing purported conversation between eminent lawyer Shanti Bhushan and political leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh does not seem to have been tampered with and there is continuity in the conversation, police sources said. A senior police official said they have received the report on the CD from the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL) located at Lodhi Road. Sources quoting the report said the CD does not seem...

A government-owned forensic laboratory has reported that a CD allegedly containing a conversation between former law minister Shanti Bhushan and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav has not been tampered with, providing a further twist to a saga that has had Delhi's political class enthralled. An official, who has seen the report, told ET that the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) has concluded the recording was authentic, clear and continuous. "The...

The Jaitapur nuclear power project has drawn blood even before its boundary wall is ready. One person was killed in police firing on Monday, which by all accounts was unnecessary to disperse peaceful protesters. There was arson in Madban, at the site’s centre, which gutted some grass and a part of a tiny makeshift shed belonging to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India. The police went berserk and intruded into...

India's Supreme Court has told states to "ruthlessly stamp out" the so-called honour killings. The court also warned that senior officials who failed to act against the offenders would be prosecuted. In recent times, there have been many cases where people have been ostracised or killed for defying age-old notions of tradition and family honour. Often these crimes are endorsed, or even encouraged, by village-based caste councils. Many of the victims are young couples...