S P O T L I G H T

R. K. Sharma in Nepal?
New Delhi, September 14
Missing for over five weeks, senior IPS officer Ravi Kant Sharma, prime suspect in the journalist Shivani Bhatnagar murder case, is believed to have slipped into Nepal, highly placed sources said. Sharma, who has been eluding arrest since August 7 and whose bail petition was rejected by the Delhi High Court on September 9, is believed to have crossed over to the Himalayan kingdom via Gorakhpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh, the sources said. Efforts to reach his wife Madhu failed as she did not respond to calls on her mobile phone. A senior Haryana police officer is believed to have helped Sharma escape despite the high vigil maintained by police and other security agencies. PTI

Quake in Andamans
Port Blair, September 14
An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale, originating in the sea, hit 11 islands in the North and Middle Andamans early today, damaging government buildings and police quarters, besides a lighthouse, with tremors continuing to be felt till 3.19 p.m. Though preliminary reports said two persons died when a retaining wall collapsed at Rangat in Middle Andamans, the police control room in South Andamans did not confirm it. PTI

15 die in Nepal
Kathmandu, September 14
Nepal sent doctors to a village in the kingdom’s northeast today where 15 persons had died and 100 others had fallen sick from an illness that had baffled medical authorities, officials said. Fifteen persons, including two children, had died in the past two weeks at the village of Jhyaku in Dolakha district, about 90 kilometres northeast of Kathmandu. AFP

5 maoists killed
Kathmandu, September 14
Nepalese security forces have shot dead five Maoist rebels in anti-insurgency operations across the country, the defence ministry said today. Two guerrillas each were killed in Ramechhap district and Khotang district and one in Darchula district, it said. PTI

Shimla areas rocked
Shimla, September 14 
Upper areas of Shimla district were rocked twice by earthquake of low intensity early today. The tremors were felt around 4 a.m. and 4.45 a.m. in the areas of Rampur, Rohru, Kotgarh and Kumarsein. People came out of their houses at some places. UNI

Communal clashes
Mysore, September 4
Large-scale violence and arson incidents broke out in K.R. Nagara in the district following communal clashes today, prompting the police to issue shoot-at-sight orders. The clashes erupted in the wake of an assault on a boy belonging to a community by people from the other community. Earlier, the police resorted to a lathi charge and fired teargas shells to disperse the mob. The police said 20 persons were injured in the incidents. UNI