Jammu and Kashmir: A man suspected of helping to plot the 1999 hijacking of an Indian civilian aircraft, Indian Airlines Flight 814, was arrested by the police Thursday in the Kishtwar district of the state, IBN Live Web site reported. Mehrajuddin Dand, who is in police custody for four days, admitted to working with the organized-crime boss Dawood Ibrahim, who is one of the most wanted men in India, the report said, quoting unnamed sources.
West Bengal: Trinamool Congress, the party that governs West Bengal and is an ally in the Congress Party-led United Progressive Alliance government at the center, has challenged the central government's decision to allow foreign direct investments in retail, Th e Telegraph reported. Mukul Roy, a Trinamool member, and the federal railways minister, said that his party had given a 72-hour deadline to the central government for a rollback, and has warned of the possibility of even withdrawing support, if their demands weren't met, the report said.
Uttar Pradesh: The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has issued a notice to the state government for its inability to curb or control child deaths from the deadly encephalitis disease in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Jagran post reported. Yogesh Dubey, a member of the commission, told the newspaper that the state authorities had not followed their directives.
Gujarat: The city of Surat is suffering from high air pollution levels despite efforts of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board to deal with the problem, Daily News & Analysis reported. Officials on the pollution control board are taking steps such as improving air quality monitoring and phasing out of commercial vehicles that are older than 15 years.
Maharashtra: Custom officials caught three members of a Mumbai-based business family on Tuesday night for trying to evade customs duty on 21 kilograms, or about 45 pounds, of gold, Daily Bhaskar reported. Some of the jewelry was hidden in their undergarments, the report noted.
Kerala: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did little to stimulate the investment climate at a major investment meeting in the state on Wednesday, the New Indian Express reported. He did, however, say that Kerala's request to start a prestigious Indian Institute of Technology was “under serious consideration†by the central government.
