Indians in US

Washington, Feb. 21 (PTI): More than 8.2 per cent of the nearly three million Indians in the US are living below the poverty line, according to the Census Bureau report. However, they are far less poor than other ethnic groups and the national average, the report said.

Indian dies in UK

London, Feb. 21 (PTI): An Indian student has died in the UK after apparently taking “lethal” bodybuilding pills to help him lose weight, The Sun reported.

Sarmad Alladin, 18, son of a Hyderabad millionaire, was taken to hospital hours after taking the pills, which contained DNP, a drug that has been linked to several deaths. Alladin had allegedly praised DNP tablets on Facebook hours before being taken to the hospital.

Forest battle

Gadchiroli (PTI): Eight forest officials were injured when they were allegedly attacked by timber smugglers at a forest on Wednesday. There were reports that a smuggler was killed in retaliatory firing, though no official confirmation was available.

Alimony order

New Delhi (PTI): A woman is entitled to the same standard of living as that of her husband, a Delhi court has observed, while directing an oil consultant to pay Rs 2 lakh monthly alimony to his estranged wife.

Gang rape girl house

New Delhi, Feb. 21: The urban development ministry has mooted a proposal to provide a flat to the family of the 23-year-old girl who was gang-raped and brutalised in a moving bus last December.

The Delhi Development Authority has shortlisted six middle-income group flats in Dwarka, south Delhi. Dwarka is an upscale colony of Delhi and the flat could cost anything between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 70 lakh. The girl’s family will be given the choice to select one of the flats among the six.

The issue of allotting a flat had come up during Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s visit to the girl’s family in Dwarka, earlier this month. The proposal is awaiting the cabinet’s nod.

The paramedic student was raped on December 16 and died two weeks later in Singapore.

Babus’ VRS

New Delhi (PTI): As many as 44 IAS officers serving at various positions across the country have taken voluntary retirement in the past six years, according to an RTI reply. Nineteen IAS officers were granted retirement in 2007, nine in 2008, three in 2009, two in 2011 and 11 in 2012.

Auto molest

Hyderabad (PTI): Two persons, including an autorickshaw driver, have been arrested for allegedly trying to abduct and molest a software engineer, police said. The 22-year-old girl had jumped out of a moving auto when driver Jangaiah’s accomplice Bitin Kumar tried to molest her.

Cop kill term

Indore (PTI): A tractor driver accused of mowing down IPS officer Narendra Kumar Singh was on Thursday held guilty of culpable homicide and sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment. Singh was killed on March 8, 2012, when he tried to stop Manoj Gurjar’s tractor-trolley allegedly carrying illegally mined stones. Mining mafia was initially suspected for the murder.

Feline attack

Dehradun (PTI): A three-year-old boy was attacked by a leopard while playing at his home on Wednesday. However, its attempt to drag away the boy failed when the child’s mother raised an alarm. The child is being treated at hospital.

BJP quit parade

Bangalore, Feb. 21: Two more ministers quit the Jagadish Shettar cabinet today amid indications that they would join the Congress.

The resignations of forest minister C.P. Yogeeshwara and small-scale industries minister Narasimha Naik came in the wake of mass exodus from the state BJP that has already lost 14 of its legislators. The earlier MLAs had joined the fledgling Karnataka Janata Party of B.S. Yeddyurappa.

Telecom firm

New Delhi (PTI): A consumer forum has directed Bharti Airtel to pay Rs 10,000 as compensation to a mobile subscriber for disconnecting services without any notice. The forum ordered Airtel to “ immediately restore” services of Delhi’s Satish Kumar Donk.

Goondas Act

Bangalore (PTI): An advisory committee of Karnataka High Court has given its consent to police to invoke the Goondas Act against six persons, arrested in the gang rape of a law student from Nepal last year. The act would help in the probe as the accused would be put behind bars for a “substantial” period, police said.

Cub rescued

Guwahati (PTI): A leopard cub has been rescued from a dry well on Thursday, forest officials said. The cub had strayed from the nearby forest to Noonmati. Locals informed the forest officials who sent a team from the Assam State Zoo.

J&K panel

Jammu (PTI): The Jammu and Kashmir state vigilance commission (SVC) is all set for its maiden term from Friday when Kuldeep Khoda takes oath of office as its first chief vigilance commissioner. Khoda and vigilance commissioner R.K. Jerath will be sworn-in by Governor N.N. Vohra at the Raj Bhavan, an official said.

Cell explodes

Medininagar (PTI): A 12-year-old boy suffered injuries in his palm and face when his China-made mobile phone exploded during charging at Dulsulma village in Jharkhand. Chotu Kumar Singh was taken to hospital on Wednesday night and is out of danger, police said.