A soldier and three militants, including the deputy commander of the IS-aligned Ansar Ghazwatul Hind group, were killed in two separate gun battles in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, police said.

The soldier and two militants possibly of the Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit were shot dead in Redwani village in Kulgam district.

The soldier’s identity has not been revealed while the identity of the two militants was being ascertained.

A sub-inspector and a constable of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were also injured in the fighting which led to street protests by civilians.

The security forces had surrounded Redwani around 2 a.m. after receiving a tip that two to three terrorists were hiding in the south Kashmir village.

Amid the search operations, the hidden terrorists opened fire, triggering the gun battle.

As the fighting erupted, youths in the area resorted to heavy stone pelting at the security forces in a bid to let the militants escape. The security forces fired used tear gas and then fired pellets to disperse the mob. Four to five youths suffered pellet wounds.

The second gunfight in Pulwama district’s Hafoo village, which began in Tral area around 7 a.m., saw the death of Shakir Hassan Dar, the deputy chief of the Ansar Ghazwatul Hind led by Zakir Musa, a police officer said.

Zakir Musa is said to be aligned with the Islamic State although authorities say that the global terror group does not have any major presence in the state.

Authorities suspended mobile Internet services in both districts.

Train services between the Kashmir Valley and Bannihal town in Jammu region also remained suspended.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan has cleared the loans of over one thousand farmers in Uttar Pradesh.

“Cleared the loans of farmers from Uttar Pradesh… select few were booked by me on train from Varanasi, and given OTS (‘OTS: One Time Settlement with Bank Of India’),” Amitabh tweeted late on Monday.

He also personally met some of them to give them their bank letters.

“And then the meeting with the farmers from UP and the giving of the OTS certificates to a select few from the 1398.

“Let the Laxmi of the house, the daughter give them that. Laxmi the Goddess of wealth. Shweta, the daughter, the Laxmi of the house,” he wrote.

He shared his photographs with Shweta on the blogpost.

Amitabh did the OTS and invited 70 farmers to Mumbai by blocking an entire train compartment for them to personally give away the bank letters.

Earlier in 2017, the “Piku” star helped over 350 farmers by paying off their debts and helping the families of 44 Maharashtra soldier who died in combat.

He had then handed over the amount to the farmers and the soldier’s families along with his wife Jaya.

IANS

 A small plane overshot its destination in Australia by almost 50 km after its pilot fell asleep in the cockpit, air safety officials said on Tuesday.

The pilot was the only person on board the Piper PA-31 aircraft from Devonport to King Island in Tasmania on November 8, the BBC reported.

The incident, classified as a case of “incapacitation”, is being investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).

Officials have not said how the pilot awoke before landing the plane safely.

“During the cruise, the pilot fell asleep, resulting in the aircraft overflying King Island by 46 kilometres,” the ATSB said in a statement.

The ATSB said it would interview the pilot and review operating procedures before releasing a report next year.

Last year, five people died when a plane on its way to King Island crashed moments after takeoff in Melbourne.

IANS

 Opening his campaign in Telangana, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, accusing the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government of doing nothing during its tenure while only the KCR “dynasty” flourished.

Addressing his first rally in the state, which goes to poll on December 7, Modi devoted most of his time castigating KCR and his party for neglecting the state for the sake of vote-bank politics and doing nothing to solve problems related to power, water and roads.

While his campaign in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Rajasthan revolved around Congress bashing and targeting the Nehru-Gandhi family, Modi concentrated in Telangana on the “failures” of the TRS government and attacking Rao.

“The Chief Minister is following the Congress footsteps and believes that if the Congress can rule for 50-55 years doing nothing, then he too can do it,” he said, calling the elections an to seek accountability from the TRS government and teach them a lesson.

“People here have been longing for water. Despite his assurances, nothing has been done. People who cannot even ensure drinking water for the masses have no right to seek votes,” the Prime Minister said.

With the health infrastructure in the state in “shambles”, Modi flayed the KCR government for opting out of the Ayushman Bharat scheme – the National Health Protection Scheme covering over 10 crore families.

“The CM suffers from insecurity and doesn’t have an iota of trust on even himself. He depends a lot on astrologers, spends a lot of time on prayers and is superstitious. He feels so insecure that he did not join Ayushman Bharat, doing gross injustice to the people of the state.”

He also ridiculed KCR for early dissolution of the Assembly, saying the early elections have given the people an opportunity to “get rid off” TRS a little earlier.

“This government’s hallmark is half-hearted promises, half-hearted schemes and they did not even complete their term,” he said.

Taking a jibe at KCR for promising to turn Nizamabad into London, Modi said even smaller towns and cities in BJP-ruled states were better off and advised the Chief Minister to “stay in those towns” to learn about development.

Claiming the BJP’s only mantra was inclusive growth and development, Modi said politics of vote bank had destroyed the country.

“Wherever politics of vote bank, of caste and of dynasty flourished, there has been no development.

“Telangana was formed after years of struggles and numerous sacrifices of youth. The state government doesn’t have the right to destroy that sacrifice. Those who promised welfare of youth, farmers, tribals and the oppressed but did nothing should be taught a lesson by the people,” said Modi.

IANS