Two suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, one of them wearing a ladies suit and a burqa, were arrested by Jammu and Kashmir Police at Kishtwar town on Wednesday.

Identifying them as Jamal Din and Abdul Karim, both brothers and residents of Keshwan Thakrai, sources say that they were arrested from Chowghan ground, the venue of forthcoming Independence Day parade at the district headquarters. They appear to have come there to do a reece of the area.

Both the arrested terrorists happened to be brothers of slain Lashkar terrorist Habib Gujjar who was killed by police and security forces in a joint operation in 2011. Jamal Din was held by police earlier as well for his association with terrorist activities, but released later.

According to sources, Jamal was wearing a ladies suit and a burqa over it. He even wore ladies shoes, but alert police officials at the Chowghan Ground suspected something fishy in his behaviour.

The police were already looking for Jamal as part of their exercise to keep watch on suspicious elements ahead of important events like Independence Day celebrations.

As there has been a suddent spurt in messages about movement of terrorists following the Lashkar attack on a BSF convoy in Udhampur district, police and security officials are already maintaining a high alert across the region. On Tuesday, massive combing operations were launched by police and security forces following reports about the abduction of a villager by some terrorists in Kalakote area. However, the information turned out to be false as the missing labourer returned home on his own by evening.

Keeping vigil at vulnerable places, the police and security forces have also been deployed in strength along Bhaderwah’s border with Chamba district of adjoining Himachal Pradesh. Additional security checks have been set up on roads coming from border areas to the national highway and all vehicles are being checked as a precautionary measure.

TV actress Sakshi Tanwar, who became popular with shows like ‘Kahaani Ki Ghar Ghar Ki’ and ‘Bade Achhe Lagte Hain’, has managed to get her big break in Bollywood with an Aamir Khan film.

Sakshi, who has done a handful of miniscule roles in the past and a prominent role in the controversial film Mohalla Assi, will now play the role of Aamir Khan’s wife in his next titled Dangal.

From what we hear, Sakshi Tanwar was selected after the makers auditioned over 70 actresses for the role. While it was chemistry, comfort level and body language that the makers were looking for, they found that Sakshi fits the bill.

It is also being said that Aamir and others were keen on casting a new face but ended up roping in the popular TV actress for the role after a lot of discussions. However, it seems that Sakshi, will have to undergo intense diction training in Haryanvi.

‘Dangal’ has Aamir Khan playing the role of wrestler Mahavir Phogat and Sakshi along with the actor will be seen as an aged couple in the film. The film also stars a few newbies like Fatima Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra playing his daughters, while Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar will play the younger versions of the daughters. Directed by Neeraj Pandey and produced by Disney UTV, Dangal is slated to release on December 23, 2015

Mysuru: A nearly 500-year-old gold coated antique Quran believed to be from the Mughal period has been seized from a gang that was trying to sell it for Rs five crores in Mysuru.

Police in the Mysuru district seized the ancient Quran while a group of 10 persons were trying to sell it near the Hosa Agrahara Railway station in rural Mysuru on Monday. The Superintendent of Police of the Mysuru district Abhinav Khare said that the 10 persons who were trying to sell the ancient copy of the Islamic holy book, have been arrested.

The Quran that was in the possession of the gang and a car they were using have been seized, Mysuru district SP said. A case has been registered at the Saligrama police station under section 25 of the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act 1972 and section 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, SP Khare said. “We are investigating the case to ascertain how the gang got hold of the book,” Khare said.

The ten persons who were arrested have been identified as N Nagaraju, 30, V Murali Krishna, 30,  and Bhaskar M, 31, all residents of Raichur district, Kallappa Kambala, 54 of Kalburgi, Kanakappa Kambala, 40 of Gadag, Sanath, 27 of Udupi, Ravindra, 33 of Kollur, Vijayendra, 30 of Hosanagar, Prasad, 43 of Sagar and Raghavendra, 30 of Siddapur.

The Mysuru district police said that a team was looking for the gang after police recieved credible information that a group of men were trying to find customer to sell a gold coated Quran. Saligrama police sub-inspector S Gangadhar recieved an information around 8 pm on Monday that five members of the group were in a car near the Hosa Agrahara Railway station and were trying to sell the ancient copy of the Quran. He sent two police constables as decoys and the gang demanded Rs five crore to sell the book. The gang was arrested following the arrival of additonal police forces. Five more members of the gang were arrested from Mysuru city.

Police investigation has revealed that the accused did not inform the archeology department about being in possession of the ancient Quran though it is mandatory while holding any type of antique goods. “This 500 year old holy Quran has a total of 302 sheets and 604 pages. All pages are coated with gold,” Mysuru SP Khare said.

Udupi: The Okkoota of Gram Panchayats have opposed any further expansion of the 1,200 MW thermal power plant of Udupi Power Corporation Ltd. (UPCL) located at Yellur in Udupi district.

Deviprasad Shetty, president of the Gram Panchayat Okkoota, in a press release issued here on Tuesday, said that the UPCL was already trying for expansion of its capacity. The second phase expansion of the UPCL’s thermal power plant would spell doom for Udupi district.

The UPCL had been purchased by the Adani Group. The 1,200 MW thermal power plant was already in operation. But the UPCL had sought expansion of its capacity and applied to the government for the same.

Any expansion of the thermal plant would have catastrophic consequences for the district, which was already reeling under the pollution problems posed by its existing plant. An expansion would affect the health of both people and animals in the surrounding areas.

There would be a severe increase in the heat in the surroundings of the plant. It would also lead to crop loss. The fly ash from the plant would lead to environmental problems. It would also destroy the fish as the UPCL released its used water into the sea. The ecologically fragile Western Ghats were closeby. The thermal plant was surrounded by agricultural lands. Experts had already opined that the land was not at all meant for setting up a thermal plant.

Udupi was an ecologically sensitive district. The recent statement of Urban Development Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake, that no new industries would be permitted until a study of the carrying capacity of Udupi district was conducted, was welcome, Mr. Shetty added.

Most of the power produced by the UPCL went to the other districts. There were also charges of non-payment of taxes to the local gram panchayat by UPCL, he alleged.

The people of the district including elected representatives, intellectuals and students, should a serious thought about the consequences of expansion of the thermal plant. Vishwesha Tirtha Swami of Pejawar Mutt, who had earlier opposed the UPCL thermal plant, should lead the struggle against its expansion, Mr. Shetty said.