M A I N   N E W S

4 Al-Badr, 2 Hizb men killed
TNS and agencies

Srinagar, March 27
Four militants, three of them foreigners, belonging to the Pakistan-based Al-Badr, were killed in a fierce encounter with the security forces at Lolab in north Kashmir today.

The security forces raided a house in Putushahi village in the Lolab valley in Kupwara district on a specific information that some Pakistan-based Al-Badr militants were holed up there and planning to attack the security forces.

The security forces were confronted with heavy firing when they reached the militants’ hideout. In the ensuing gunfight, four militants were killed and an Army jawan was wounded.

Four AK assault rifles, 10 magazines, 157 rounds of ammunition, two wireless sets and an under-barrel grenade launcher were seized.

Elsewhere in the state, two Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militants were killed while militants attacked a BSF camp with rockets and Rs 7 lakh were looted from a bank during the past 24 hours.

The security forces gunned down two Hizb-ul-Mujahideen militants in an encounter at Darah village in Rajouri district of the Jammu region last evening.

Bhadana’s election upheld

New Delhi, March 27
The Supreme Court today upheld the election of former Haryana Minister Kartar Singh Bhadana from Samalkha constituency and directed his rival Hari Singh Nalwa to pay Rs 25,000 to him for the cost of the litigation.

Allowing an appeal filed by Bhadana, a three-judge Bench of Mr Justice S. P. Bharucha, Mr Justice N. Santosh Hegde and Mr Justice Y. K. Sabharwal reversed a judgement of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had set aside Bhadana’s election and declared Nalwa elected in the February 2000 General Election.

Nalwa had contended before the High Court that at the time of scrutiny of the nomination papers, Bhadana had held five mining leases from the Haryana Government which disqualified him from contesting the election.

Though Bhadana had secured 37,174 votes as against 26,159 votes of Nalwa, the High Court had declared Nalwa as elected from Samalkha. PTI