MP without helmet fined

• BHOPAL: Bhopal MP Alok Sanjar has paid a fine of Rs 250 and apologised for riding a motorcyle without a helmet at a rally in Bhopal. On Monday, while participating in the Ekatm Yatra, a statewide mission to collect metals for the installation of a 108ft-tall statue of Adi Shankaracharya at Omkareshwar, Sanjar along with Bhopal Central MLA Surendra Nath Singh was seen riding a motorbike without a helmet. The matter was brought to the notice of traffic police after someone sent the MP's photo to the WhatsApp number of the traffic police. PTI

School bus fire

• GURGAON: Fifteen students of a city-based school had a narrow escape after their bus caught fire in Dhankot area on Wednesday. The incident took place when the bus was going to drop the students of Delhi Public School home, police said. The locals broke the windows to rescue the kids. PTI

Job fraud cuffs

• THANE: A 60-year-old woman and her daughter were booked on Thursday by police for allegedly swindling at least half a dozen unemployed youths out of Rs 37.85 lakh. Jayashree Mohite and Megha Kadam, 34, had approached the youths promising to give them jobs in Canara Bank and took money from them between 2011 and 2013. The victims neither got jobs nor received their money back, an officer said. PTI

Goa driver assault

• PANAJI: Goa police arrested three persons hailing from Gujarat for allegedly assaulting a taxi driver at Saligao village near Panaji on Thursday. The trio had hired a taxi to visit various places in Goa but had refused to pay the fare, the police said. PTI

Green order

• NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal has directed the inspection of areas around a paper mill in Nainital after a plea alleged the release of toxic liquid and solid waste into the reserve forest near it. The NGT directed the mill to submit a status report before March 16, the next date of hearing. PTI

Jail term for theft

• NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has upheld a three-year jail term given to a 21-year-old man for snatching a gold chain from a woman and said he did not deserve leniency as the offence was "well-crafted". PTI

Cops 'seize' 56 pet cats

• MUMBAI: Bombay High Court on Thursday issued notices to Pune police on a plea filed by a woman who claimed that cops had illegally seized 56 of her pet cats. A bench directed the police to respond within three weeks to the woman's allegations that they had barged into her flat and seized the animals last year. The bench also directed the police to present their version. The petitioners also alleged that some gold and other valuables were "stolen" during the raid. PTI

US Sikh AG

• NEW YORK: Gurbir S. Grewal, an Indian-American lawyer, has become the first Sikh attorney-general of the state of New Jersey. The state Senate approved his nomination unanimously. "I never imagined that my life's journey could bring me here today," Grewal, 44, said during his confirmation hearing. PTI

Kerala temple

• THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala tourism and state archaeology departments have launched a multi-crore project to develop the Madavoorpara hilltop and turn it into a tourist destination. PTI

Drunk pilot sent home

• MUMBAI: SpiceJet has sent an expat pilot back home after he allegedly failed to clear the mandatory pre-flight alcohol test. The pilot, a first officer, had been working for a Turkish carrier, which has wet-leased some of its aircraft to the Gurgaon-based airline, SpiceJet said. As part of the DGCA's safety regulations, all pilots and cabin crew must undergo the breath-analyser or alcohol test before and after flights. Aircraft rules prohibit crew members from taking any alcoholic drink 12 hours prior to take-off. PTI

Fireworks plea

• CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister E.K. Palaniswami has urged the Prime Minister to exempt the fireworks industry in the state from environment laws. There are around 850 fireworks manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu, most Virudhunagar district, and they contribute to 90 per cent of the fireworks produced in the country. PTI

Ship fire death

• KUTCH: A crew member succumbed to his injuries and another is battling for life after suffering injuries in a diesel-laden oil tanker that caught fire off the Gujarat coast on Wednesday. Merlin Fernando, 35, was an electrical engineer aboard MT Genessa, which was carrying 30,000 tonnes of diesel. Nitin Madhukar has been shifted to a Mumbai hospital in a critical condition. Water samples from the area showed that so far there has been no oil leak. PTI

IS suspect custody

• NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency on Thursday took into custody five men from Kerala suspected to have links with the Islamic State. The five accused - Midlaj, 26, Rashid, 24, Abdul Razak, 34, Manaf Rahman, 42, and Hamza, 57 - had tried to travel out of India to join the terror outfit in Syria, sources said. All of them are said to hail from Kannur district in Kerala.

Cuffs on chairman

• NEW DELHI: The CBI has arrested a resort owner from Hyderabad on a complaint by Indian Overseas Bank alleging fraud of over Rs 54 crore. G.S. Chakravarthi Raju, chairman of Leo Meridian Infrastructure, was arrested by the Bangalore unit on Wednesday. PTI

Former Goa CM

• PANAJI: Goa police filed a chargesheet on Thursday against former chief minister Digambar Kamat for condoning a delay in renewing a mining lease. PTI