Rail ticket refund rules eased

New Delhi (PTI): The railways have started giving refunds for unused tickets under the Coaching Refund Scheme announced by Union railway minister Laloo Prasad Yadav.

According to an official release, under this scheme the deadline for refund on unused reserved and reservation against cancellation tickets extends to five days after the train departs on schedule from its originating station.

Under normal rules, a request for refund on unused reserved tickets is admissible only up to a maximum of 12 hours after the train departs.

The Coaching Refund Scheme is intended to facilitate refund of tickets directly from the computerised terminals of passenger reservation system beyond the limit of 12 hours and up to a maximum of five days after the departure of the train, it added.

Award on Neruda centenary

New Delhi: The Chilean government on Monday celebrated the birth centenary of Nobel laureate poet Pablo Neruda by awarding two professors, Aparajita Chattopadhyay from Jawahar Lal Nehru University and Vibha Maurya of the Delhi University, reports our correspondent.

They were awarded the Pablo Neruda Medal of Honour for their scholarship on the Chilean poet.

Jorge Heine, the Chilean ambassador in India, made the announcement at a news conference on the occasion of the centenary.

The two Indian professors are among 100 scholars who were honoured in the 65 Chilean embassies all over the world with the presidential medal of honour in simultaneous ceremonies on Monday.

The awards will be formally conferred on them at a special ceremony to be held in early September this year, the ambassador said.

Dalit women raped in MP

Jabalpur (PTI): Two Dalit women were allegedly gangraped in separate incidents in Damoh district on Sunday, barely three days after the gangrape of three women of the same community in Seoni district.

Police said a 32-year-old woman was raped by four men in Keolari village and, in Ajeetpur, two persons raped a woman in her house. On July 8, three Dalit women were raped in Seoni by men belonging to the Yadav community as an act of vengeance.

Medical bill scam

Ahmedabad (PTI): A medical bill reimbursement racket worth Rs 3 crore and allegedly involving government employees, doctors and chemists was busted by city police. Sources said officials of the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the food and drugs department seized thousands of forged bills from various offices. No one has been arrested as yet.

Cops face mob fury

Nasik (PTI): A mob gheraoed a police chowk in Malegaon, about 90 km from here, demanding the arrest of three policemen for allegedly defiling the Kausar mosque. Police said the three policemen of Nandgaon police station were out to catch a culprit on Sunday when they allegedly entered the mosque’s vaju-khana (place for washing hand and foot) without removing their shoes.

Cricket clash

Mumbai (PTI): Clashes over a cricket match in the Dharavi slum area led to the arrest of 12 people accused of triggering a riot. Police have tightened security in the area that witnessed clashes after one Balu Jadhav was hit by a cricket ball that came flying out of the Shehenshah compound, where a match was in progress. A heated altercation between Jadhav and the players got out of hand with groups on either side clashing inside the slum.

Student murdered

Akola (PTI): A college student was murdered on Sunday in New Bhimnagar for allegedly objecting to eve-teasing. Police said Amardip Wakpanjar, 21, was killed when he rushed to support his father who was trying to stop some youths from passing lewd comments at the daughter of a local advocate.

There has been a spurt in foreign tourist arrivals in India in the past two years, resulting in an increase in the foreign exchange earned from them. The number of foreign tourists grew from 2.47 million in 2002-03 to 2.92 million in 2003-04.