NEW DELHI: The process of selecting a new Central Bureau of Investigation director was initiated on Saturday with Chief Vigilance Commissioner N Vittal holding consultations with secretaries of Home and Personnel for the first time after the commission was made a statutory body. The discussions centred around preparing a panel for selecting the CBI director as provided for in the CVC Ordinance.

Ministers quit

IMPHAL: Three Manipur ministers and the Deputy Speaker of the state Assembly on Saturday resigned on the ground that the government has failed to keep its promise to declare the Kuki dominated Kangpokpi areas as a separate district. The ministers, all prominent Kuki leaders, are Ngam Thang Haokip (Horticulture and Soil Conservation), T N Haokip (Sericulture) and Thangminlen Kipgen (Minister of state for Power). They wrote a joint resignation letter along with the Deputy Speaker T T Haokip to the chief minister.

Ultras surrender

SRINAGAR:Thirty-two militants belonging to different banned outfits surrendered on Saturday along with arms and ammuntion before Director General of Police Gurbachan Jagat at Kupwara. Jagat later handed cash incentives to the former militants.

Star pay channel

NEW DELHI: The Star Television network is to encrypt its main Star Plus channel from Sunday. Two other channels of this network, Star Sports and Star Movies are already pay channels. At present, about 15 satellite TV channels beaming into India are encrypted.

Gang busted

BANGALORE: The Karnataka police have achieved a major breakthrough in unearthing an all India network of criminals, having nexus with notorious gangsters Irfan Goga and Babloo Srivatsava, involved in kidnapping and abduction of important people and arrested six kingpins, including a crime reporter from Bihar in this connection. City Police Commissioner L Revannasiddaiah said the accused were brought from Bihar and the investigation so far had revealed that the arrested werepart of a 25-member gang which had indulged in kidnapping, extortion and murder in various parts of the country during the last three years.

TN collision kills 4

THANJAVUR: Four people, including two women, were killed and 33 others injured in a collision between two Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation buses in front of the bus stand here on Friday night. Bodo blockadeGUWAHATI: THE All Bodo Students Union has threatened a 500-hour road and rail blockade from the third week of December and paralyse surface communication between north-east and other parts of the country, if its demand for a separate Bodoland was not met soon.