S P O T L I G H T

Three rebel BJD MPs expelled
Bhubaneswar, November 16
Three of the six BJD Lok Sabha MPs, who revolted against the party leadership and ousted the leader of the BJD Parliamentary Party Mr Arjun Charan Sethi, two months ago, were today expelled from the primary membership of the party for six years. The decision appears to have deepened the crisis in the five-year-old regional party amidst threats by the rebel leaders to remove the party President and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik from both posts. The three MPs expelled are — Prabhat Samantaray, Kumudini Patnaik and Jagannath Mallick. They were suspended from the party on August 9. PTI

Salman Khan
Mumbai, November 16
A local court today exempted film actor Salman Khan from appearance in a hit-and-run case even as the matter was deferred to December 19 for transferring it to the Sessions Court for trial. As regards Salman’s plea for a direction to the police to return the vehicle involved in the mishap, the court decided to hear the matter on the next date. PTI

27 Maoists killed
Kathmandu, November 16
Security forces in Nepal have gunned down 27 Maoist rebels in the past 24 hours as they continued anti-terror operations across the country, official sources said today. AFP