Maratha activist Manoj Jarange on Tuesday launched a fresh indefinite fast, his sixth in a span of over a year, to press for the demand for reservation to his community under the OBC category.
Police personnel removed him and his supporters from the protest site as they were holding the demonstration near a restricted area, and thus it was "illegal", a senior officer said.
The Gadchiroli district bordering Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh has been the hot-bed of Naxal activities in Maharashtra with the Maoist violence claiming 418 lives in the past three decades.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said the proposed refinery project at Barsu village in Ratnagiri district will not be implemented without the local people's consent, and appealed for calm in the area.
In the first phase covering 20 of the total 90 assembly seats, 223 candidates, including 25 women, are in the fray and as per electoral rolls, 40,78,681 voters are eligible to exercise their franchise.
With this, the number of Maoists killed in the gun battle with the security personnel on Friday has risen to 31, they said, adding that a search operation is still underway in the area.
The patrol team first found 13 pressure IEDs and later recovered 149 such bombs, weighing about one kilogram each, from a nearby cave in the area.
More than a dozen Mountain Rescue Teams assisted thousands of pilgrims during this year's Amarnath pilgrimage in the south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said on Monday, as the annual yatra concluded with more than 5.10 lakh pilgrims offering prayers at the cave shrine.
The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its verdict on a plea of the Tamil Nadu government against a Madras high court order allowing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh to hold marches in the state.
The incident took place in the morning under Jagargunda police station area when a team of the CRPF's 165th battalion was out on an anti-Maoist operation, a police official said.
The number of cyberfraud cases has skyrocketed from 2,677 in 1999-2000 to 29,082 in FY24 -- more than a 10-fold increase. The RBI pegs digital payment frauds at Rs 1,457 crore in FY24, up more than five times in a year. It's not just the number of frauds. What's alarming is the growing sophistication of the fraudsters, exposing the vulnerabilities within the financial system, observes Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Senior IPS officer Rajiv Singh, belonging to the neighbouring Tripura cadre, was on Thursday appointed as the new director general of police of Manipur.
According to the police, these villages have never seen unfurling or hoisting of the national flag since 1947, but that will change when its residents will join the rest of the country in celebrating Republic Day, which commemorates the day when the Constitution came into effect in 1950.
The response was tepid in other parts of the country even as several INDIA bloc parties as well as other non-BJP outfits extended their support to the bandh.
The force "never faced any problem with regard to participation of candidates due to language problems," the spokesperson said.
Nearly 13.04 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 9 am on Wednesday in 43 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand where voting is underway in the first phase, officials said.
In a fresh incident of arms looting, a mob comprising the majority community broke into a police armoury and stole weapons, including AK and 'Ghatak' series of assault rifles, and over 19,000 bullets of various calibres, officials said.
The personnel who lost their lives were from the CRPF 128 Battalion deployed at the Naransena area in Bishnupur district in the state.
Zirwal and the others were protesting against the inclusion of the Dhangar community in the quota for tribals.
On Monday, five Army personnel were killed and five injured when heavily armed terrorists hurled a grenade and opened indiscriminate fire on two army vehicles around 3.30 pm on the Machedi-Kindli-Malhar mountainous road near Badnota village, about 150 km from the district headquarters Kathua.
The clash broke out following a road accident involving two-wheelers belonging to people from 2 communities.
As many as 14 Maoists were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region on Friday, a senior police official said. However, ANI has put the toll at 30.
They were identified as LOS commander Erra and woman cadre Podiyam Bhime, deputy commander of the same squad, Sharma said.
Date, a 1990 Indian Police Service officer of the Maharashtra cadre who once sold newspapers in Pune to financially support his family, was honoured with the President's Police medal for gallantry for his role in what has come to be known as the 26/11 attack.
He also sought framing of a law to identify Kunbis as Marathas, and warned of fielding candidates from all 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra in the upcoming state polls if his demands were not approved.
Restrictions continued in parts of Srinagar city for second day on Tuesday following the death of a youth in security forces firing.
Shukla, incidentally, was accused of tapping phones of some political leaders while she was chief of the state intelligence department in Maharashtra.
Sarma, 53, has been enjoying a Z category cover provided by the Central Reserve Police Force VIP security unit for his travel in the north eastern states till now.
A total of 10 companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) have been sent to Bihar after violent clashes erupted during Ram Navami celebrations in the state, sources said on Sunday.
Security forces tightened their cordon around a forest area in the higher reaches of Doda district on Tuesday evening following an encounter with hiding terrorists, officials said.
Inspector Masroor Ahmad Wani was playing cricket with local boys at the Eidgah ground when he was shot by terrorists, the officials said.
During the operation, members of the proscribed People's Liberation Front of India opened fire at approaching security personnel and the law enforcers retaliated, he said.
Maratha activist Manoj Jarange on Wednesday suspended his indefinite fast, which he began five days ago over the quota issue, stating that his community members say they want him alive to fight for the cause.
Irked over some matter, the head constable picked up his rifle and opened indiscriminate firing at his colleagues leaving two jawans dead on the spot and six injured.
Police sources said the state forces exchanged fire for about 40 minutes.
All the essential services, schools and colleges have been excluded from the bandh.
The statement comes after a purported viral video on social media shows a man allegedly being denied reservation in hotel as he is from the union territory.
The interim budget 2024-25 on Thursday allocated Rs 202868.70 crore to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) with the highest share of funds going to the paramilitary forces like Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Industrial Secular Force (CISF), showing priority on internal security and border guarding.
Several Aam Aadmi Party leaders, including Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, hit out at the BJP government at the Centre, saying agencies are targeting those who raised their voice against the ruling party.
In a relief to actor Darshan Thoogudeepa, an accused in the Renukaswamy murder case, the Karnataka high court on Wednesday granted him interim bail on medical grounds, to undergo spine surgery.
