US ship crew under arrest; arms seized
India justifies detention, says vessel was carrying weapons, ammunition without authorisation
Tuticorin (TN)/New Delhi, Oct 18
Thirty-three crew members of a US firm owned ship were today arrested by Tamil Nadu Police on charges of illegally carrying arms and ammunition and straying into Indian territorial waters without authorisation.

A crew member of the vessel in police custody in Tuticorin on Friday. — AFP

Akhilesh govt foils VHP’s Ayodhya rally
BJP MP among 1,600 arrested
Ayodhya, October 18
A massive crackdown by the Uttar Pradesh Government — in which about 1,600 persons were arrested, including BJP MP Yogi Adityanath —foiled VHP's planned rally in Ayodhya today in support of constructing a temple at the disputed site.

TAKING NO CHANCES: Tight security arrangements in Ayodhya in the wake of ‘Sankalp Diwas’ rally on Friday. — PTI

Dalal Street celebrates, for the time being New Delhi, October 18
The stock markets rose by over 467 points to a nearly three-year high owing to improved sentiment on the debt agreement in the United States and expectations that the tapering would happen at a later date.

The US booster

Punjab CPS’s firm booked for violating green norms
Chandigarh, October 18
Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Industry and Commerce, and SAD MLA NK Sharma is in soup as his firm M/s VN Sharma Builders Private Limited has been booked in a criminal case for violating Provisions of Environment Protection Act 1986 while developing its Savitry Greens project with the Punjab Pollution Control Board filing a case under in the court of Senior Divisional Judge, Dera Bassi, yesterday.

Drug racket: NCB on lookout for kingpin from Punjab
New Delhi, October 18
After unearthing a major overseas racket of a chemical called ephedrine being smuggled out of India in rice bags to produce party drugs, India’s Narcotics Control Bureau is looking for the kingpin who is from Punjab.