ADILABAD: The People's War Group plans to set up a Baladandu (children's brigade) and induct children aged between 8 and 12 years into it. As the PWG has been losing youths due to various reasons, especially surrendering to the police, it plans to recruit children and give them special training. To this effect, it has already drawn an action plan and hopes that the children would take part in its activities at least for 10 years.

Gopal enters jungle to meet Veerappan

BANGALORE: The Tamil Nadu Government emissary has entered the jungles on his second mission to contact forest brigand Veerappan to secure the release of nine Karnataka forest officials held hostage by the bandit since July 12.

The emissary, R R Gopal, left on Thursday for the forests to meet Veerappan in his hideout, carrying an undisclosed new plan with the consent of the Governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Organ banking cell set up at AIIMS

NEW DELHI: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Friday launched first of its kind an ``Organ Retrieval and Banking Organisation'' (ORBO). The ORBO shall also initiate a campaign for awareness building countrywide for voluntary donation of organs by the relatives of the brain-death victims so as to facilitate transplants.

Expert divers join rescue work in MP

INDORE: Two teams of expert divers of the Navy from Mumbai and Agra were expected to reach Nemawar, the site of Thursday's mishap in Dewas district, to fish out bodies of 40 passengers who were drowned after their bus fell into the swollen Narmada river. The district sub-divisional magistrate, Mahesh Chaudhary, said on Friday that 50 home guard jawans were already engaged in the salvage operation.

Land scam case against MP ministers

JABALPUR: The Lokayukta has submitted before the Madhya Pradesh High Court that there was a strong prime facie evidence against Deputy Chief Minister Pyarelal Kanwar and another Minister B R Yadav for their prosecution under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act in connection with the Madhotal land scam case.

In its 350-page reply filed in the HC on a public interest petition seeking prosecution of those involved in the case, the Lokayukta said the state had refused sanction for prosecution of both Kanwar and Yadav but granted permission to prosecute officers on the basis of same material.

Abducted Tripura MLA still untraced

AGARTALA: The Tripura MLA, Debabrata Koloi, remained untraced while two other persons, abducted along with him on Thursday by the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) from Dhuamacherra of Dhalai district, returned late Thursday night. Police said that the joint search operation by army and paramilitary forces in the nearby areas was in progress to trace out the MLA.

Jammu bandh partially successful

JAMMU: Shops and commercial establishments remained closed in several parts of Jammu region on Friday in response to the bandh called by Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) in protest against the state Government's partisan attitude towards the region.

The bandh called to oppose the government's SRO-441 and other notifications, which denies exemption of taxes and other reliefs to the business community in Jammu region, has been supported by Bhartiya Janata Party and several trading organisations.

Drunken youth kills friend, two others

TIRUNELVELI: A youth, under the influence of liquor, beheaded two persons, including his close friend and killed another at Salaipudur near Kayathar in Tirunelveli district on Thursday evening, police said. The youth, Sundrarajan, chopped off his friend Mariappan's head after an altercation while they were returning from a local wine shop.

He also severed the head of one Krishnan when the latter refused him permission to enter his coconut grove with Mariappan's severed head of . He killed another beggar who was passing that way.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.