'They asked me if I was a devout Muslim and if I could recite the Kalma.' Flying Officer Jawahar Lal Bhargava knew his game was up. 'They threatened me with dire consequences if I didn't tell the truth.'
Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal, Randeep Surjewala and Jairam Ramesh of the Congress and Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut were among the 16 candidates elected to the Rajya Sabha from four states where polling was held on Friday after tussle over cross voting and alleged breach of election rules delayed the counting by around eight hours in Maharashtra and Haryana.
Here is the lowdown of the each state and parties.
IAS officer-turned-politician Shah Faesal and two Peoples Democratic Party members, including the maternal uncle of former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, who were released from detention under the Public Safety Act earlier this week have been "informally" told not to move out of their houses, informed sources said.
Still admitted at the trauma centre, undergraduate Mohammad Tazeen, 19, alleged that he and several others faced a merciless attack" by police. He said he was dragged out of the AMU guest house number 3, thrashed there and again at the Malkhan Singh Hospital, "where nearly 20 of us were taken in police vans supposedly for treatment".
Mullah Muhammad Hassan Akhund is appointed as Prime Minister with two deputies Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Molavi Abdul Salam Hanafi.
The PDP led by former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has decided to stay away from the delimitation process, saying the body lacks 'constitutional and legal mandate' and is part of the overall process of political disempowerment of people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Despite Nirav Modi win, in the last five years, India managed to bring only about 20 fugitive offenders.
A BSF official said a night patrol party of the force spotted the three entering Indian territory and asked them to surrender.
The court said had the prosecution witnesses not turned hostile, the outcome of the trial would have been different.
Joginder Tuteja looks at how well recent films highlighting sibling love have done at the box office.
China is a big country with a huge economy and capacity. They can play a big role in rebuilding, reconstruction of Afghanistan," Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said.
There was heavy police deployment at most of the crossings in the district, around 150 km from Uttar Pradesh's capital city, Lucknow.
According to RDA president Hamza Malik, the availability of protective gear for doctors at the hospital had reached a critical point when they had threatened to boycott work if necessary gear was not made available immediately. The crisis was however defused on the intervention of the AMU Vice Chancellor Tariq Mansoor, who assured them that their concerns were being immediately addressed.
Joginder Tuteja looks back at all the lesser known films Bollywood's leading men debuted in.
Mansoor Khan looks back at his history-making directorial debut.
Filmmaker Mansoor Khan turned his back to the movies, to live a simple life off the land. He has another passion now -- Mother Earth.
'The Mansoor Taliban is really an extension of the Haqqani Network which in turn is an instrument of the ISI. With Ashraf Ghani ready to dance to Pakistani tunes and with the Haqqani Network becoming part of the Afghan government, Pakistan is all set to see the fruition of its strategic policy,' says Sushant Sareen.
BlackBerry handsets of Husain Haqqani and Mansoor Ijaz, the central characters of the memo scandal, are being examined by forensic experts at the Pakistan High Commission in London to probe their role in the case.
Mansoor Ijaz, the man who has triggered off a political crisis in Pakistan, is a 'dubious character,' who is sowing 'seeds of dissension,' South Asia experts in the US tell Aziz Haniffa in Washington, DC.
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan will inspire terrorists and trigger an "explosion" of extremism and security challenges for the world, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warned on Thursday.
'It was always anticipated that the return of the Taliban would embolden armed Islamists including anti-India groups like the Lashkar and Jaish.'
Pakistan Prime Minister Yosuf Raza Gilani has accused an unnamed lawmaker of being in touch with 'memogate' scandal blower Mansoor Ijaz, hinting that there was a conspiracy against President Asif Ali Zardari
'Mansoor Ijaz is a smooth operator. I am not surprised he has fooled us or anybody, says former R&AW chief A S Dulat in conversation with Sheela Bhatt.
Imran has already selected the subject he wants to direct.
As Sharmila Tagore celebrated her 75th birthday on December 8, her family took her on a vacation to the Ranthambore wildlife reserve, near the town of Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan. We bring you pictures from their trip.
Former India batsman Gundappa Viswanath revealed that he was "very, very hurt" after his distinguished career came to an abrupt end following a poor Test series against Pakistan in 1982-83. Along with Sunil Gavaskar, he was one of the minstays of the Indian battling line-up through the 1970s, playing some fine knocks against the best pace attacks of that era.
The Indian Medical Association will consider taking back police complaints lodged against yoga guru Ramdev and also a defamation notice sent to him if he withdrew his remarks against COVID-19 vaccines and modern medicine, IMA national chief Dr J A Jayalal said.
Hitting out at Congress leaders for the party's performance in the Lok Sabha polls, Baig, a MLA from Shivajinagar, had recently held Siddaramaiah's "arrogance" and KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao's "immaturity" responsible for the "flop show."
Amusing spectacles unfold everyday with candidates attempting a variety of things from donning the role of a chef to washing clothes to woo voters, spicing up the campaign for the April 6 assembly polls in Tamil Nadu.
'When was the last time you heard a music composer or a singer's son being launched?'
Specially designated global terrorist Sirajuddin Haqqani, who carries a reward of $10 million US bounty on his head, is the acting interior minister while his uncle -- Khalil Haqqani -- has been named as acting minister for refugees.
'Tiger Shroff plays Aamir Khan's underdog who must win the sports event from privileged students.'
Despite dependence on the ISI for years of sustenance, Taliban leaders may harbour resentment over the ISI's excessive control, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing.
'Throughout the nearly 20-year US-led war, State sponsorship from Pakistan has been a constant.'
Internal strife and tribalism is endemic to Afghanistan, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Bollywood stars posted adorable pictures of their daddies on Father's Day.
The flawed Indian policy toward Afghanistan is missing the woods for the trees. The Modi government doesn't have a 'big picture', observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, who played a stellar role in beginning India's systemic dealings in Afghanistan in 1994.
The suspended Congress MLA made it clear he would not fly to Mumbai or Delhi, unlike the other disgruntled MLAs who have camped in a Mumbai hotel.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances