Hizb commander gunned down

srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir police on Thursday gunned down a self-styled divisional commander of the Hizb-ul Mujahideen in an encounter in Badgam district.

Mohammed Yousuf Sheikh, who was the also the operational chief of the organisation, was wanted in connection with the attack on chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed last year and for over 75 other killings in the state.

Sheikh, who was active since 1990, was operating in Badgam, Srinagar, as well as Sumbal and Tangmarg areas of Baramulla, a police spokesperson said.

A police party confronted Sheikh and his associates at Yarigund near Check-e-Ruksun, 25 km from here. His associates, however, managed to escape.

Sheikh, a resident of Rathsun village of Beerwah with a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head, was operating under aliases such as Sajad, Doctor and Osama.

Sheikh had killed more than 75 civilians, besides carrying out militant activities against security forces, and was known for his ruthlessness and brutality, the spokesperson said.

Bus operator murdered

raipur: The murder of a bus operator on Friday has sparked tension in the city, reports our correspondent.

Two motorcycle-borne men fired four shots at Satwant Singh Gill, 46, while he was travelling on his scooter around 7am, city superintendent of police Prasad Thakur said.

Gill was immediately rushed to hospital, where he was declared brought dead, he said.

The deceased owned Mahendra Travels, which runs over 100 services in Chhattisgarh.

Bus operators have stopped plying their vehicles as a mark of protest. Eight buses were damaged at a bus stand by protesters, mainly employees of Gill’s company. Three buses, which belonged to a rival operator, were set ablaze.

The protesters blocked the entry and exit points of the bus stand, preventing the entry of fire tenders, sources said.

Additional forces have been deployed while armed commandos are doing the rounds of the locality to prevent the situation from spinning out of control.

Hardly 10 days ago, Gill had submitted a memorandum to state home minister Brijmohan Agrawal anticipating that his rival had hired killers to eliminate him.

Rs 62-crore gems seized

mumbai (PTI): The enforcement directorate and the income-tax department have seized Rs 22 lakh in cash and unearthed diamonds worth Rs 62 crore in a joint search operation at the offices of a diamond merchant.

A search of Bharat Kumar’s office in south Mumbai’s Opera House yielded 70,000 carat diamonds on Thursday, the director of investigation, income-tax department, Kalyanchand, said. Two offices in the building have been sealed. Only 4,000 carats of the seized diamonds were accountable, he said.

Killer truck

ajmer (PTI): A state armed constabulary truck crushed to death one of three rickshaw pullers sleeping on the road and injured the others on Thursday. The deceased was identified as Madhuram. Bahadur and Nanda have been hospitalised.

Cop & wife looted

mumbai (PTI): A policeman and his wife were sedated and their valuables stolen in a state bus between Pune and Mumbai on Wednesday. Assistant sub-inspector of police Raghunath Pandurang Pawar has been hospitalised. His wife, Kavita, has been discharged. A fellow passenger had offered them sweets and robbed the couple of a gold chain and a cellphone after they fell unconscious.

Minors rescued

mumbai (PTI): Thirty-three minors, working in zari units in the slums of Dharavi, were rescued and two persons arrested on Thursday. Two raids were conducted following a complaint by social workers. Eight minors were rescued from the zari unit of Ahmed Rajjak Ansari at Indira Nagar and the others from Mohammed Salimuddin’s unit in Murugan Chawl. The children have been sent to a juvenile home.

DU rape case

new delhi (PTI): A court has extended the custody of Ajit Katiyar, the main accused in the car gangrape of a Delhi University student, till May 31. Police have requested for more time to conduct further interrogation.

Rossiya TV, a Russian television network, will telecast the Sunil Dutt-starrer, Mother India, as a tribute to the late actor and sports and youth affairs minister. It will be shown this weekend.