43 jailed for smuggling animal parts in Madhya Pradesh

September 24th, 2009 BHOPAL - Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has urged the centre to include the state among those where the Basmati rice variety is grown, officials said here Thursday. In a letter written to union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar Wednesday, Chouhan requested him to direct the Export Development Authority to include Madhya Pradesh in the areas producing Basmati rice.

September 3rd, 2009 BHOPAL - Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan Thursday expressed profound grief over the untimely demise of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S.Rajashekhar Reddy, who was killed in a helicopter crash Wednesday. The country, including Andhra Pradesh, has lost an able administrator and a charismatic politician, Chouhan said in his message.

June 30th, 2009 BHOPAL - Senior Congress leader Rameshwar Thakur took oath as the Governor of Madhya Pradesh at a ceremony at Raj Bhavan today. Madhya Pradesh High Court Chief Justice A K Pattnaik administered the oath of office to the Thakur.

June 30th, 2009 BHOPAL - Senior Congress leader and former Karnataka governor Rameshwar Thakur was sworn in here Tuesday as the 18th governor of Madhya Pradesh. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Leader of Opposition in assembly Jamuna Devi, state Congress Committee president Suresh Pachouri, Madhya Pradesh cabinet ministers and other dignitaries were present on the occasion at Raj Bhavan.

May 21st, 2009 LUCKNOW - A 25-year-old man was arrested early Thursday in Uttar Pradesh's Allahabad district for alleged possession of nearly 2,000 detonators and other explosives, police said. 'The suspect was nabbed early Thursday in Allahabad district, from the Shankergarh area that borders Madhya Pradesh,' police inspector Arvind Jaiswal told IANS on phone.

May 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of a news report published in two parts in The Hindustan Times on May 5 and 6 under the title "Apartheid" alleging how dalit kids are being discriminated against in four districts - Jhabua, Sheopur, Katni and Ujjain of Madhya Pradesh. The report has also alleged that health workers in these districts avoid Dalit hamlets and examine women without touching them.

April 1st, 2009 DAHOD - The Gujarat police have intensified patrolling on a highway bordering Madhya Pradesh following reports of a number of make-shift country liquor vends coming up in the neighbouring state. The police suspect that before the polls, a lot of liquor is being smuggled from Madhya Pradesh to Gujarat, a state under prohibition.

March 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Sections of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) might be exulting in the attention their party's Pilibhit candidate Varun Gandhi is getting after his inflammatory speeches. But there is one place where the 'other Gandhi' won't be welcome -- Madhya Pradesh, where the party's election in-charge is Sushma Swaraj.

March 8th, 2009 BHOPAL - A Madhya Pradesh zoo has urged President Pratibha Patil to sponsor an elephant under the 'Prani Punyodaya' (adopt an animal) scheme so that the animal is fed properly. The management of Kamla Nehru Prani Sangrahalaya (zoo) in Indore, 200 km from here, in a letter to Patil last week said the two captive elephants in the zoo need a hefty daily diet - 500 kg grass, one-quintal sugarcane, 5 kg chapattis and heavy doses of jaggery twice a week - costing over Rs.30,000 a month.

March 3rd, 2009 LUCKNOW - A woman involved in an inter-state arms smuggling racket was arrested in Uttar Pradesh in possession of eight pistols, the police said Monday. 'The woman was arrested Sunday night from the Civil Lines locality in Aligarh, but one of her accomplices managed to escape,' Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Brij Lal told reporters here Monday.

February 15th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Three people have been arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district for smuggling skins of wild animals. They are part of a racket operating out of Nepal, police alleged Monday.

February 10th, 2009 BHOPAL - Candidates from the entire country would now be eligible to appear for examinations conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Public service Commission (MPPSC) or other bodies for state government jobs, an official source said Wednesday. The state cabinet Tuesday decided that passing higher secondary or graduation from Madhya Pradesh would not be a criteria for recruitment through the MPPSC.

February 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - The average temperature in the national capital this January was the highest during the past 19 years, the India Meteorological Department Wednesday said. 'The average temperature of 15.3 degrees Celsius in January is the highest during the past 19 years.

December 31st, 2008 BHOPAL - Animal lovers in Madhya Pradesh will now be able to adopt a wild animal of their choice by paying for the their feeding and upkeep at the Van Vihar National Park here, an official said Thursday. Minister of State for Forest Rajendra Shukla told IANS that the national park launched the scheme for adoption of wild animals with a view to instilling affection towards wildlife in the hearts of people.

December 28th, 2008 LUCKNOW - Three people were arrested in Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh Monday for smuggling in explosives from Madhya Pradesh. A huge cache of explosives was recovered from them, police said.