SP leader abducted, killed by Naxals

BIJAPUR: A Samajwadi Party (SP) leader was abducted and killed by Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police said on Wednesday. Santosh Punem, who was also a contractor, was abducted by ultras late on Tuesday evening from his construction site in Marimalla village where he had gone to supervise some road-related work, SP Divyang Patel said. Some locals spotted his body lying in a pool of blood at the nearby Marimalla hills on Wednesday morning and informed the police. A team of security personnel rushed to the spot, located deep inside a forest which is 16 km away from the police station, he said. The police were yet to return with the body, he said. Punem last year contested the state Assembly polls from Bijapur seat on the SP ticket, he added. PTI

‘Remove mannequins wearing lingerie’

Mumbai: A Shiv Sena councillor in the BMC wants the civic body to remove mannequins that publicly display women's lingerie in the next two weeks. Sheetal Mhatre, who is also the head of the civic body's law committee, demanded on the floor of the House on Wednesday that licences of shops which display lingerie in their windows be cancelled. "It is embarrassing for women to see mannequins displaying lingerie in public. One sees mannequin busts hanging from trees displaying lingerie," Mhatre said. She said shopkeepers might display lingerie indoors without embarrassing anyone. Mhatre has received support from her party colleagues. The Yuva Sena headed by Aaditya Thackeray has come out in support. TNS

Cutting travel time tops Rlys’ agenda

New Delhi: The Railways has worked out 11 proposals, including taking up works on reducing time of journey on the two busiest routes - Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai - and handing over certain routes to private players, to be rolled out in next 100 days. As per the vision document for next 100 days, prepared by the Ministry of Railways following instructions from PM Narendra Modi, a senior Railway Board official said the plan was to reduce by five hours the travel time on the two identified route for which an investment of Rs 14,000 crore would be required to step up infrastructure in four years. The proposals in this regard are being sent for approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. TNS

Himachal High Court gets new Chief Justice   

New Delhi: Justice V Ramasubramanian, presently a judge of the Telangana High Court, has been appointed the Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court. Justice Dharam Chand Chaudhary had been officiating as Chief Justice of the HP High Court after Justice Surya Kant was elevated to the Supreme Court recently. Also, Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan, the acting CJ of the Telangana HC, was appointed its Chief Justice, a notification said. TNS

IL&FS scam: ED arrests two former executives

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested two former executives in connection with its money-laundering probe in the IL&FS alleged financial irregularities case, officials said. Former joint MD of the company Arun K Saha and MD of transportation network K Ramchand were arrested in Mumbai under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. These are the first arrests in this case by the ED. PTI

Jaishankar, Russian Deputy PM discuss Modi’s visit

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Russian Deputy PM Yury Trutnev on Wednesday and discussed ways to boost bilateral ties and PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Vladivostok for the Eastern Economic Forum later this year. Trutnev also held meetings with NSA Ajit Doval and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. PTI

MP Nusrat Jahan gets married in Turkey     

Kolkata: Bengali actress and newly elected MP Nusrat Jahan tied the knot with her businessman beau Nikhil Jain late on Wednesday in Turkish town of Bodrum. The actress donned a lehenga designed by Sabyasachi Mukherjee, while Nikhil too wore a dress from Sabaysachi's stable. On Thursday, the duo will have a white wedding for which Nusrat will dress in a mix of mint green and white. She was working as the face of Nikhil's textile chain when the duo got acquainted last year. The couple has planned a gala reception ceremony at a star property in Kolkata on July 4. IANS