S P O T L I G H T

Restaurant food makes 24 ill
Jind, October 5
Twentyfour persons fell unconscious after consuming eatables from a roadside restaurant on the Jind-Bhiwani road, about 7 km from here today. The affected persons have been admitted to the local General Hospital. Some of them regained consciousness in the evening. According to doctors, the condition of all of them is stable. It is suspected that they had consumed poisonous food or water. Officers of the Health Department had taken samples of food and water from the restaurant for test. OC

Fake stamps seized
New Delhi, October 5
The Delhi Police today claimed to have seized fake postal, revenue and foreign bill stamps and non-judicial stamp papers worth over Rs 216 crore and exposed a major syndicate involved in the supply of these judicial material to major government and private companies, mostly from the insurance sector. The kingpin of the racket is said to be Abdul Kareem Telagi, who was running the illegal business from the Bangalore jail. Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) U.K. Katna told reporters that Mohammad Asif, Mohsin, Mohammed Mansoor, alias Manoj, and Deepak had been arrested in this connection. UNI

Leader shot
Dhanbad, October 5
President of the Forward Bloc in Jharkhand Sushant Sen Gupta was among three persons killed when unidentified criminals opened fire on them on the G.T Road under the Nirsa police station here today. The incident took place when Sushant Sen Gupta was returning to Chirkunda in a car along with his younger brother Sanjay Sen Gupta and three other party activists after appearing in a court in Dhanbad. The leader, his brother and driver were killed on the spot. UNI

BJP revamping move
New Delhi, October 5
As part of the revamping exercise the BJP is likely to effect leadership changes in few more states including Haryana and Punjab Party sources said here that among the states which were likely to see changes are Haryana and Punjab. “These changes are part of the exercise to rejuvenate the party cadres and prepare them for the assembly elections slated to be held next year in about 10 states,” they said. PTI

Stampede victims
Lucknow, October 5
The BSP today said it had provided Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the 19 persons killed in a stampede at Charbagh railway station on Saturday. BSP Vice-President and state Chief Minister Mayawati said the assistance provided by the party was besides the ex gratia announced by the state government and the Prime Minister. UNI

Dawood's house
Bangalore, October 5
In its drive against illegal construction, the Bangalore Development Authority today razed down a three-storeyed building alleged to be owned by underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Officials concerned, after verifying the record, found that the Rs 80-lakh house belonged to Dawood but was registered under a benami name. UNI