Thursday, October 3, 2002, Chandigarh, India
Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

Fresh wave of violence in J&K

3 NC workers, 6 BSF men killed Srinagar, October 2 In a fresh spurt in poll violence, unidentified gunmen shot dead three workers of the ruling National Conference in the Lolab constituency of Kupwara district, ahead of the re-scheduled polling for the Assembly segment.

Relatives of Ghulam Qadir Bhat mourn his death after he was killed at Haihama in Kupwara district, 100 km north of Srinagar, on Wednesday. — Photo Amin War

Blast in bus, 2 killed, 23 hurt

Jammu October 2 A girl from Batala, Ritu, and a man identified as Keshav Sharma, were killed and 23 passengers were hurt when a bomb planted by terrorists in their bus exploded near the Karan Nagar locality in the town this morning in a fresh wave of violence. The bus was on its way to Katra. Firemen extinguish a fire following a bomb blast on a passenger bus in Jammu, on Wednesday. Suspected militants set off a bomb in the bus near Jammu on Wednesday, killing two and wounding 21. — Reuters

Doda test for govt, security forces
Jammu, October 2
The smooth conduct of elections on October 8 in the terrorism-affected Doda district will be the real test for the state government as well as security forces. Doda is known as the hotbed of terrorism and it adjoins Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh.

    J&K page: BJP launches election campaign in Doda
    Editorial: Bullet losing against ballot

PM hits out at reforms critics
Says media distorting facts on disinvestment
New Delhi, October 2
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today accused sections of the media of distorting facts on the disinvestment issue. He said an impression was being created as if the privatisation process had come to a halt due to differences within the NDA government.

   Business: George, Naik, Joshi against PSUs’ selloff

Nation remembers Gandhiji
New Delhi, October 2
President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam today led the nation in paying homage to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, on the occasion of his 133rd birth anniversary at his samadhi in Rajghat here.
In video (28k, 56k)

10 injured in Gujarat violence
Ahmedabad, October 2
Group clashes and police firing have left 10 persons injured in Vadodara and Bhavnagar districts of Gujarat in the past 24 hours. The police opened fire to disperse the clashing mobs at the Karachiliya Para slum area of Bhavnagar this afternoon, injuring four persons, police said.
In video: The police in Gujarat says it has unearthed a plot to assassinate top political leaders, including Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani. (28k, 56k)

Free us of Periphery Act, cry villagers Chandigarh, October 2 “Hakan mariyan, bulaya lakh bari, per kise ne meri gal na suni” (No one has heard me though I made lakhs of calls). These famed lines of a popular Punjabi song aptly describe the tale of woes and misery of residents over 300 villages in the radius of 16 km from the outer boundary of the City Beautiful.