Guwahati:

The bodies of three men from Assam have been found in unmarked shallow graves in Meghalaya’s East Garo Hills. The bodies were completely burnt and beyond recognition. The men were identified by the hired car they were travelling in, which was found nearby. The police said a preliminary inquiry indicated that the men were executed, their bodies set on fire to evade identification and then buried.

The bodies were found in Rongmil area, 15 km from Rongjeng in East Garo Hills. Two of the men were found in a single grave. The other, believed to be the driver of the vehicle, was in another grave. The police stumbled upon the graves while searching for the men whom their families had reported missing.

Police sources said the men — Jamar Ali and Zahidul Islam and their driver Noor Ahmed from Assam’s Goalpara’s Dolguma — had left home on Monday evening. They were to go to Meghalaya for work, they said. Around 6 am on Tuesday, they called their families.

The men had said they were having breakfast after entering East Garo Hills through the Damra-Dainadubi-Wageasi road to Rongmil. It was the last time they spoke. The phones were found to be switched off when they called later.  The families began to worry after they could not be contacted for over 24 hours and alerted the authorities.

The police started the search from the breakfast spot and finally located the Maruti Swift vehicle they were travelling in. The car was found deep inside a bamboo forest in Rongmil area, completely burnt. The graves were found nearby. After an on-the-spot postmortem, the bodies were handed to the families for last rites, the police said.

The murder, coming on the eve of polling, has sent shock waves across the region. The police, though, are suspecting that the men could have been killed by rivals. Zahidul Islam, 25, was involved in car lifting and Jamor Ali, 35, was involved in cattle rustling, the police said. Zahidul Islam also has a non-bailable warrant against him.

Shillong/Goalpara:

Charred bodies of three youths of Assam were found buried in neighbouring Meghalaya’s East Garo Hills district on Wednesday, police said.

The vehicle that they used to enter Meghalaya from Assam’s Goalpara district was also found burnt in the same area, Rongmil.

“We have learnt that the three persons had gone to Meghalaya in a vehicle on Tuesday. Their charred bodies, partially buried, were recovered by local police there,” a police officer of Goalpara said.

It appears that the three persons were killed by a group of people.

“We are in touch with the Meghalaya police. Why the three were killed or who were involved would be known only after investigations are over,” the officer added.

Meghalaya police said that the bodies were found buried in two locations.

“Two bodies were found in one spot and another in a separate spot near the area where the vehicle was burnt,” an officer of the Meghalaya police told PTI.

He said that the family members had spoken to them after they entered Meghalaya on Tuesday morning and since then, they could not be contacted.

After the worried family members informed the police, a search operation was launched on Wednesday.

Villagers informed the East Garo district authorities of a burnt vehicle in the Rongmil area. The police reached the spot and found the bodies.

Two of the victims were identified as Jamal Ali and Nur Mohammed from Dolguma in Goalpara. The identity of the third victim is yet to be verified.

The police have registered a case and investigations are on.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Two persons were allegedly beaten to death by miscreants at Ichamati under Shella police station in East Khasi Hills district on Wednesday evening.

The incident took place after the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rally organized by the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) along with other NGOs at Ichamati, police sources informed.

Some criminal elements may have taken advantage of the situation and murdered the two persons, who belonged to non-indigenous communities, they said.

East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner SC Sadhu confirmed the death of two persons and added that the details are awaited.

Sources informed that the situation is tense and reinforcements are being sent.

All Superintendents of Police are instructed to be alert and intensify foot/mobile patrolling in their respective jurisdiction.

They have also been asked to organize peace meetings tomorrow.

District police chief Rituraj Ravi said the two dead bodies of L Esan Sing and L Sujit Dutta were found at Ichamati and Dalda respectively.

“Inquest and post mortem are yet to be done. Teams from local PS and additional teams from Shillong are at site. Further details to be shared,” he said.

Arvind Kejriwal arrest | After India summons envoy, U.S. stresses it encourages fair, transparent legal proceedings

After India summoned a senior U.S. diplomat to lodge a protest over remarks on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Washington on Wednesday stressed that it encourages fair, transparent, timely legal processes and “we don’t think anyone should object to that”. “We continue to follow these actions closely, including the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal,” U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

Two killed after anti-CAA meeting in Meghalaya

Two persons were killed in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district on Wednesday following a meeting organised by a local organisation against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) of 2019. Police said the bodies of the two persons — both non-tribals — were found at Ichamati and Dalda under the Shella Assembly constituency. Both places are close to the State’s border with Bangladesh. The district’s Superintendent of Police, Rituraj Ravi, told journalists that the post-mortem was yet to be done. “Additional police teams from Shillong have been sent to the site,” he said.

IPL-17 : MI vs SRH | Records go for a six as SRH outshines MI in run fest

Travis Head played a gem of an innings, Abhishek Sharma was stunning and Heinrich Klaasen flamboyant as the trio fashioned Sunrisers Hyderabad’s impressive 31-run win against Mumbai Indians in a high-scoring IPL league match at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here on Wednesday night.

Priest can give CAA eligibility certificate, says government helpline

A local priest may issue an “eligibility certificate” under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 to validate the religion of an applicant, according to a response received by The Hindu through the Union Ministry of Home Affairs’ CAA helpline. The certificate, a mandatory document, is to be enclosed along with an affidavit and other documents that the applicants are to upload on the CAA portal. “The reasons for which applicant wishes to acquire Indian citizenship” must also be stated.

Congress announces 14 more candidates for Lok Sabha polls

The Congress on Wednesday brought out a fresh list of 14 candidates from Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh for the Lok Sabha elections. Some of these were cleared by the Central Election Committee (CEC) of the party earlier in the evening. Sources said the CEC had discussed around 18 names and most had been cleared. In Uttar Pradesh, the party named Dolly Sharma from Ghaziabad, Virendra Chowdhury from Maharajganj, Nakul Dubey from Sitapur and Shivram Valmiki from Bulandshahr.

₹50 lakh stolen from van carrying cash to ATM in Kerala

In a brazen daylight theft, ₹50 lakh was stolen from a van that was taking the money to fill cash vending machines, at Uppala in Kasaragod in Kerala on Wednesday .The incident occurred outside an ATM of the Axis Bank around 2 p.m. The van involved in the incident belongs to a private agency, Secure Valley. Notably, it arrived at the location without security personnel. The police apprehended the driver and seized the van.

Nirmala Sitharaman decides against contesting Lok Sabha polls

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has decided against contesting the Lok Sabha election, she said on Wednesday, citing the lack of “money to contest” the poll and her inability to meet the “winnability criteria” in southern States such as Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu that she could have considered battling from. The Minister, in her second term in the Rajya Sabha, had been sounded out by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s top brass to consider a Lok Sabha candidature in the upcoming election, along with some of her Upper House cabinet colleagues such as Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and Environment and Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav.

Government notifies revised wages under the MGNREGS

The Union government on Wednesday notified the revised wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), with several States reporting a hike in wages by 8 to 10%. The hike ranged from ₹7 in Uttar Pradesh (2023- ₹230 – to 2024 rate of ₹237) to ₹34 hike in Goa (2023 wages ₹322 to 2024 wages ₹356). Significant jump in wages have been reported by Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Goa, where the hikes varied from 8% to 10.5%. Bihar follows closely behind, where the wages have been revised by ₹17. 

Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt convicted in false drug seizure case

A court in Gujarat on Wednesday convicted former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in a drugs seizure case dating back to 1996. The court is expected to pronounce the quantum of punishment on Thursday. The sessions court in Palanpur held Bhatt guilty of falsely implicating a Rajasthan-based lawyer, Sumer Singh Rajpurohit, by claiming that police had seized drugs from a hotel room in Palanpur where the lawyer was staying. The case was lodged when Bhatt was the district Superintendent of Police.

‘Close your eyes, feel my presence’: Arvind Kejriwal’s wife reads out his message to people

Sunita Kejriwal, the wife of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, posted a video message on the CM’s X account on Wednesday, where she relayed a message from her husband: “While my body is in jail, my spirit is with the people of Delhi.” “Close your eyes, and you will feel my presence around you,” Ms. Kejriwal said, relaying her husband’s message with her eyes closed and hands folded. While remanding Mr. Kejriwal in Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody, a court in New Delhi had allowed him to meet his wife and lawyers between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. daily.

Solution cannot be found on battlefield, says Jaishankar on Russia-Ukraine conflict

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on March 27 said India’s position in the Russia-Ukraine conflict has been that a solution cannot be found on the battlefield and New Delhi wants to find a way of bringing this conflict to an end. Responding to a question on India’s position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict during his interaction with the Indian diaspora in the Malaysian capital, Mr. Jaishankar said that there are “no winners of a conflict”. “We took the position from the start, that you’re not going to get a solution to this conflict on the battlefield,” he said.

In its seventh list, BJP announces Navneet Rana’s candidature for the contentious Amravati Lok Sabha seat

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday announced the candidature of Navneet Rana for the reserved Amravati Lok Sabha seat in its seventh list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. Ms. Rana, an independent MP and the incumbent legislator of the Amravati Lok Sabha seat, is a supporter of the BJP along with her husband Ravi Rana, who is the current MLA from Badnera (in Amravati). The announcement now paves the way for Ms. Rana to formally join the BJP and contest on the Scheduled Caste (SC) reserved seat.

Rameshwaram Cafe blast: NIA conducts simultaneous raids in Shivamogga and Tamil Nadu

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), probing Bengaluru’s The Rameshwaram Cafe blast case, conducted simultaneous raids and questioned several suspects in Shivamogga, Karnataka, Chennai, and Ramanathapuram districts in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday (March 27). NIA sleuths on Wednesday raided the residences of Mussavir Hussain Shazib and Abdul Matheen Taha in Thirthahalli. The duo are accused in the 2020 Al Hind IS module case registered in Suddaguntepalya and have been absconding since. They are also said to be the kingpins of the Thirthahalli module and accused in the Mangaluru cooker blast of November 2022. Given the similarity in the timer and detonator devices in the IEDs used in The Rameshwaram Cafe blast and the cooker blast, agencies have suspected the role of the same module. 

Woman stripped, paraded and beaten up in M.P. village; four women held

Four women were arrested for allegedly beating up, stripping and parading a 30-year-old woman over a dispute at a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district, police said on Wednesday. A video of the purported incident that occurred during the Holi celebrations also surfaced on social media. “On Monday, four women forcibly pulled the victim out of her house, beat her up and humiliated her by stripping her naked in public at Bachhora village of Gautampura police station area,” Superintendent of Police (Rural) Sunil Mehta said.

Guwahati:

The National People’s Party, led by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, has announced that it would support the Lok Sabha candidate of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) in Nagaland and the Naga People’s Front (NPF) nominee in Manipur.

NPP national chief Sangma, after meeting Nagaland Chief Minister and senior NDPP leader Neiphiu Rio, said his party would support NDPP candidate Chumben Murry for the lone Nagaland seat.

Mr Murry is the consensus candidate of the ruling People’s Democratic Alliance (PDA), which leads Nagaland’s multi-party coalition government.

The NPP would also support NPF candidate Kachui Timothy Zimik in the Outer Manipur seat, Mr Sangma told the media. His party, he added, would support BJP nominees in two Lok Sabha seats in Arunachal Pradesh — Union Minister Kiren Rijiju (Arunachal West) and Tapir Gao (Arunachal East).

The NPF fielded Mr Zimik, replacing its sitting MP Lorho S. Pfoze.

The NPP, NPF, and NDPP are the allies of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Mr Sangma said the NDA partners are supporting each other’s candidates in different northeastern states.

The BJP had earlier announced support to the candidates of the NPP in the two parliamentary seats in Meghalaya, the NPF nominee in the Outer Manipur Lok Sabha seat, and the NDPP contender in Nagaland’s lone Lok Sabha seat.

It is however yet to declare its candidate for the Inner Manipur seat.

The NPP, which dominates the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government led by Mr Sangma, has fielded state minister Ampareen Lyngdoh from the Shillong Lok Sabha constituency, and renominated Agatha K. Sangma from Tura.

Agatha K. Sangma, the sister of Conrad Sangma, was the youngest Union Minister during the second UPA government.  

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh):

Akhilesh’s wife Sheela Singh Chauhan and son Suraj Chauhan expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath when they met him at his official residence on Friday regarding the safe rescue of Akhilesh who was abducted.

Akhilesh Singh Chauhan (49), hailing from Beniganj, Kursi Road, Lucknow, and employed in a construction company in the South Garo Hills of Meghalaya, was abducted by two kidnappers who demanded a ransom of Rs 50 lakh for his release.

The relentless efforts of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath yielded swift results as Akhilesh Singh Chauhan was safely rescued within a day.

The Chief Minister assured Akhilesh’s family of all possible support.

After the matter came to light, CM Yogi spoke with Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma on Thursday evening and urged for the release of Akhilesh.

Following this, Meghalaya Police took action and successfully rescued Akhilesh from the jungle of South Garo Hills (Baghmara district) and also arrested two kidnappers.

On Thursday evening, CM Yogi requested Sangma for the safe return of Akhilesh Singh.

After the kidnapping of Akhilesh Singh (49) in the South Garo Hills of Meghalaya, the contractor called Akhilesh’s wife, Sheela Singh and informed her about the incident.

Expressing fear of something untoward happening to her husband, Sheela Singh has appealed to the Uttar Pradesh and Meghalaya governments for help.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)