Meher remand

Bhubaneswar: Police on Saturday took sex racket kingpin Sunil Meher on a four-day remand to interrogate him about his network through which he managed to run the racket here. The investigating team will also probe into how he brought young women from abroad into the state. Sunil, on the other hand, said he was framed. He said others were still running the business across the city and they took his name to save themselves.

Naveen trip

Bhubaneswar: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday left for New Delhi. During his stay, Naveen will attend the Chief Ministers’ and Chief Justices’ Conference to be held on Sunday. He will also meet Union ministers to follow up on projects related to the state during his visit.

MLA gheraoed

Bhubaneswar: Local residents gheraoed Bhadrak MLA Jugal Kishore Patnaik and locked him inside his office on Saturday in protest against irregularities in distribution of ration cards. The municipality chairperson and executive engineer were also present with the Patnaik during the gherao. Later, police rescued him along with the other government officials.

Sangeet award

Bhubaneswar: Three eminent artistes from the state have been selected for the Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards. They are Prafulla Kar, Alok Kanungo and Sadasiv Pradhan. Kar will be awarded in the Sugam Sangeet category while Kanungo and Pradhan will receive the award for Odissi and Chhau dance respectively.

Madarsa shut

Bhubaneswar: The district child welfare committee on Saturday served a closure notice on a madarsa at Ahmednagar near Vyasanagar in Jajpur district, which was running without registration. Acting on the directive of the district collector, the members raided the madarsa. They handed over the 17 minor boys studying at there to their parents after producing them before the court.

Road blockade

Bhubaneswar: Members of different social organisations and Nayapalli Senior Citizens’ Association on Saturday blocked the roads near Unit-VIII Kalyan Mandap and Power House Square.