Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Maoist attack on troops heightens fears for India election

MAOIST rebels today (4) ambushed an Indian military patrol and killed four soldiers in a jolt to security ahead of a national election starting next week, officials said.

Indian authorities also faced protests over the closure of a major highway in restive Kashmir state for two days a week during voting so it can be used for military convoys.


Border Security Force troops were on a foot patrol in a remote forested district of Chhattisgarh state when attacked.

Six BSF troops were also wounded.

State police chief, DM Awasthi, who gave the toll, said the wounded soldiers have been evacuated from Kanker district.

Indian forces have been fighting Maoists for decades in the mineral-rich central state, which will vote on April 11, the first day of the multi-stage nationwide election which will only finish on May 19.

The rebels often call for a boycott of elections as part of their campaign against the Indian state.

The Maoists are believed to be present in at least 20 other Indian states but most active in Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.

Their insurgency has left tens of thousands dead.

Tens of thousands have also been killed in the past three decades in Kashmir where Indian authorities have ordered the main Udhampur to Baramulla highway a 300-kilometre lifeline from the Kashmir valley to the rest of India on Wednesdays and Sundays to prevent suicide attacks.

The road closure order issued late Wednesday (3) sparked angry protests from politicians, businesses and residents in the Muslim-majority region.

Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister in Kashmir, said patients would not be able to reach hospitals, students will not get to schools and many people will not get to work.

"There has to be a better, less people unfriendly way of protecting forces using the highway," Abdullah said on Twitter.

"This is martial law. We have never seen this kind of ban here and it will hugely affect trade between Kashmir and other states in India," Yasin Khan, a business leader said.

The only other road connecting the landlocked valley to Jammu province in the south is in bad shape and closed for many months each year.

A railway link under construction for nearly 15 years has missed several completion deadlines.

"Last I checked, we were a democracy. But this sounds like a diktat of martial law," said Mehboob Mufti, another former chief minister and ally of prime minister Narendra Modi.

The government was inflicting "collective punishment" on Kashmiris," Mufti said on Twitter.

(AFP)

More For You

Liz Kendall

Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall will outline welfare reforms in a green paper next week, followed by chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Spring Statement on 26 March.

Ministers may drop plan to freeze disability benefits: Report

MINISTERS are considering dropping plans to freeze Personal Independence Payments (PIP) for a year, according to a report.

Initial proposals suggested PIP would not rise in line with inflation, but strong opposition from Labour MPs has prompted a review.

Keep ReadingShow less
BBC settles age and sex discrimination case
BBC headquarters in Central London.
Getty Images

BBC settles age and sex discrimination case

THE BBC on Friday (14) said it had settled a case with four female journalists who claimed they lost their jobs because of their sex and age.

Martine Croxall, Annita McVeigh, Karin Giannone and Kasia Madera, who have all presented on the BBC's television channels, claimed they lost their jobs following a "rigged" recruitment exercise.

Keep ReadingShow less
Indian student in US self-deports after visa revocation

In this screenshot from a video posted by @Sec_Noem via X on March 14, 2025, Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen who participated in pro-Palestinian protests at United State’s Columbia University, leaves the country after her visa was revoked by the Department of State. (@Sec_Noem via PTI Photo)

Indian student in US self-deports after visa revocation

AN INDIAN student at Columbia University, whose visa was revoked for allegedly supporting Hamas, has self-deported, says the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen, came to the US on an F-1 student visa as a doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia University, and her visa was revoked on March 5.

Keep ReadingShow less
'Companies with diverse leadership are better positioned for growth'

From LtoR- Lord Karan Bilimoria, Sir Trevor Phillips, Seema Malhotra MP, David Tyler and Nathan Coe

'Companies with diverse leadership are better positioned for growth'

COMPANIES with diverse leadership are better positioned for sustainable growth, improved decision-making, and will connect better with multicultural markets, equalities minister Seema Malhotra has said.

She added that the government will soon launch a public consultation on their approach to mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting.

Keep ReadingShow less
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with  Wang Yi (right)

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with Wang Yi (right)

S Jaishankar: ‘Delhi’s global interests shape its regional ties'

INDIA today sees itself as a global power or, at least, a country with global interests, which is why Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has spoken of its equation with Russia, China and notably the Middle East.

India’s external affairs minister was in conversation last Wednesday (5) in London with Bronwen Maddox, director of the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House.

Keep ReadingShow less