Clash city crawls back to normal

Lucknow: Police conducted raids in the old city to arrest those named in the FIR following Sunday?s clashes between two Muslim sects even as peace returned to riot-torn areas, reports our special correspondent.

Paramilitary forces and a riot control van moved around the old city. The curfew, imposed on Sunday night was relaxed on Monday morning for some hours.

Chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav promised to start a high level probe into the sequences leading to the riot between Shias and Sunnis, which killed three persons and injured 20.

Mulayam Singh visited King George Medical College where the injured were admitted on Sunday night. He handed over Rs 5 lakh each to the next of the kin of the deceased.

Azam Khan, minister for parliamentary affairs, told reporters that the government has identified the persons involved in engineering the riot. The formation of various parallel Muslim personal law boards created the psychological platform for the riot, the minister added.

Eco-friendly toilets in trains

New Delhi (PTI): The Indian Railways has begun installing environment friendly toilet discharge systems in new coaches, introduced from this financial year.

The move follows a policy by the ministry of rural development which envisages country-wide sanitation and elimination of open defecation by 2012.

It is also a part of the technology mission on railway safety being undertaken by the Research Design and Standards Organisation, the research and development unit of the railways, an official release said.

The environment friendly lavatory, popularly known as modular toilet, is similar to the ones used by airlines.

The toilet stops discharging in a stationary train, thus preventing pollution at stations and corrosion of tracks and their fittings. It starts functioning again when the train is at a speed of 30 kmph and above.

Bus and van crash, 16 die

Bangalore (PTI): Sixteen persons were killed and 25 injured in a collision between a state bus and a van at Nidagatta in Mandya district.

Mandya district superintendent of police R. Hitendra said 12 bodies have been identified. The condition of six of the injured, who were rushed to hospitals in Bangalore and Mysore, is serious, he said. Hitendra blamed negligent driving by the drivers for the accident. The bus was on its way to Mysore from Bangalore.

Fisherfolk relief

Vadodara (PTI): The Gujarat government will pay a daily allowance of Rs 50 to the family of each fishermen lodged in Pakistani jails. This will benefit about 800 fishermen held in Pakistani jails from and before April last year, fisheries minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasma said.

Bail for cop

Mumbai (PTI): Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to suspended director-general of police Rahul Gopal who is in custody on alleged bribery charges. The bail was granted on the grounds that the investigation was over and a chargesheet had not yet been filed by the anti-corruption bureau within the stipulated period. Gopal is to present himself at the bureau office when summoned till the chargesheet is filed.

Man murdered

Sonepat (PTI): A youth was murdered by five persons at Thana Kalan village in Haryana on Sunday. Ashok, Rajesh, Dharampal, Sonu and Monu, all residents of the same village, fled immediately after the murder. Altercations between Ashok and the victim Rajesh were the main cause of the murder, police said.

Temple mishap

Madurai (PTI): Two persons were killed and 16 seriously injured during Jallikattu (taming of the bull) held during the Muthumarriamman temple festival at Thiruvappur near Pudukottai. Over 40 onlookers received minor injuries. Over 600 bulls took part and 20,000 people participated in the festival on Sunday.

Jammu and Kashmir governor S.K. Sinha has opened the first ever SBI e-donation facility in Jammu for Vaishno Devi devotees. Donations can be made from any SBI ATM in the country.