Over 70 Indian Hindu pilgrims returned home on Wednesday after performing religious rituals at the sacred Katas Raj temples in Pakistan's Punjab province.
Several families continue their desperate search for their loved ones.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's husband Robert Vadra on Tuesday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party was behind Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal being out of jail to campaign in the Haryana polls with an aim of denting the Congress' chances.
The main shooter, identified as Ramjan Khan alias Raj Hooda, was injured in his leg in the shoot-out, said Promod Ban, head of the anti-gangster task force of the Punjab police.
The special court had convicted them on Friday in the murder case of a Dera manager, Ranjit Singh.
He was seen wearing a plaque around his neck while sitting in a wheelchair because of a fractured leg.
Narain Singh Chaura, a former terrorist with a history of violence and involvement in the 2004 Burail jailbreak case, attempted to shoot Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal outside the Golden Temple. The attack, which occurred while Badal was sitting in a wheelchair, was thwarted by quick action from security personnel. Chaura has been arrested and is facing multiple charges, including under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
A special CBI court in Panchkula on Friday convicted Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for the murder of former Dera manager Ranjit Singh in 2002.
Punjab Police expanded their search for Amritpal Singh on Friday to 'deras' and other possible hideouts of the fugitive preacher in Hoshiarpur district, where some suspects had abandoned their car following a chase three days ago.
In view of the continued requests of the pilgrims regarding the removal of $20 service charge levied by Pakistan per pilgrim per visit, India has once again urged Pakistan to not levy any fee or charges on the pilgrims, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been given Z-plus security cover during his 21-day release on furlough from a Haryana jail where he has been serving a sentence, officials said on Tuesday." a recent communication from a senior Haryana police official to the Rohtak Range commissioner said.
The man, identified as Narain Singh, was overpowered by some people standing outside the Golden Temple.
The Election Commission on Monday rescheduled from November 13 to November 20 the assembly bypolls to all nine and four seats in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, respectively, and one seat in Kerala in view of festivals, an official statement said.
Rebel Akali leader Gurpartap Singh Wadala slammed Badal's move, saying instead of showing "a sense of renunciation", he issued a "dictatorial order" aimed to sideline those who want a "change" for strengthening the party
Narain Singh Chaura, a former Khalistani terrorist, attempted to kill Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Chaura, who had been visiting the temple for two days, opened fire at Badal from close range but missed as he was overpowered by plainclothes policemen. The police have seized a 9 mm pistol from Chaura and are investigating whether any organization was behind the incident or if it was carried out to "gain sympathy".
Ram Rahim, lodged in Rohtak's Sunaria Jail, is serving a 20-year sentence handed out to him in 2017 for allegedly raping two of his disciples.
Political parties have fielded sons, wives and daughters-in-law of legislators who quit after being elected to the Lok Sabha.
The court in Panchkula had convicted Ram Rahim and four others -- Krishan Lal, Jasbir Singh, Avtar Singh and Sabdil -- in the murder case on October 8.
Pardeep Singh was shot in his dairy shop at around 7 am in Kotkapura in Faridkot, the police said, adding that his security man and another person sustained bullet injuries in the incident.
They handed the apology letter to Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh at the Akal Takht Secretariat at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The Akal Takht is the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs.
Why can't the Indian government propose to the Chinese a corridor circumambulating the Holy Mountain where people from both sides could perform the yatra again? asks Claude Arpi.
"He withdrew his parole application on Monday," a senior official of Haryana Prisons Department said, refusing to divulge further details.
Ruling parties held sway in most of the 13 states in the assembly byelection results declared on Saturday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies wresting seats in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan and the Trinamool Congress sweeping West Bengal.
The counting of votes for the bypolls to 46 assembly seats in 13 states and in the Lok Sabha segments of Nanded in Maharashtra and Wayanad in Kerala, a crucial electoral exercise since the parliamentary polls in April-May, will begin at 8 am on Saturday.
Singh is serving a 20-year jail term for raping two of his disciples.
An average voter turnout of 20 per cent was recorded in the first four hours of voting in the bypolls to 15 assembly seats spread across Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala and Uttarakhand on Wednesday amid an incident of stone pelting in a village in UP's Meerapur and allegations of police personnel deterring voters from casting their ballot.
Deras like Sacha Sauda made the poor feel secure, cared for, loved, provided a support system and gave them dignity, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
Vineet Kumar had changed several hard disks before the search operation at its headquarters in Sirsa.
Ram Rahim did not talk with anyone and was seen roaming in the cell.
The court of judicial magistrate first class Rahul Garg also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each on Prithi Singh a resident of Baghapurana and Amardeep Singh and Mithu Singh, both residents of Malke village.
Ahead of the pronouncement of the sentence, police have left nothing to chance and have taken important functionaries of the sect, who could gather followers, into preventive custody.
The request is under "active consideration" of the Union home ministry, he said.
Additional security personnel were deployed in the Poonch district on Monday even as a search operation was ongoing in the forested terrain of Dera ki Gali, where two Army vehicles were ambushed by heavily armed terrorists from across the border last week.
A young woman said to be a follower of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect immolated herself at her house in a village near Bathinda on Friday, allegedly as she was upset due to the Dera-Sikh row.
The Sikh high priests have also demanded that Ram Rahim tender an unqualified apology for wearing clothes similar to that of the tenth Guru Gobind Singh.
Honeypreet is the only woman in the 'wanted' list.
The premises of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's sect is spread over 800 acres and houses educational institutions, markets, hospital, stadium, recreational areas and houses.
A local court on Thursday dismissed the case of alleged blasphemy against Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and hurting sentiments of Sikhs in 2007. District and Sessions Judge Tejinder Singh accepted the report submitted by the state seeking dismissal of the case.
Priyanka Taneja alias Honeypreet was arrested from Zirakpur-Patiala road
The CBI court is hearing the cases of murder of journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati and former Dera manager Ranjit Singh.
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