MADRAS HC WANTS DESTRUCTION OF PROLTTE BOOKS

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Wednesday directed the authorities to destroy over 1,700 copies of books written by pro-tamil leader Pazha Nedumaran in support of the banned LTTE in 2002, holding that if returned, these could lead to disturbance and threat to peace and public tranquillity. Justice M V Muralidharan gave the direction while upholding a lower court order dismissing Nedumaran’s petition seeking that the books be returned. He was dismissing an appeal filed by Nedumaran against the March 2, 2007 order of the first additional sessions judge here. Noting that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was a terror group that was behind the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, the judge said the Centre had declared it as an unlawful association and the ban had been periodically extended.

Over 18L foreigners visited India this yr on evisa: Govt

NEW DELHI : As many as 18.78 lakh foreigners – mostly from UK, US, China, France, and Germany — visited India this year on E-visa, the Union Home Ministry on Wednesday said. Last year, 17 lakh people visited India. The ministry ascribed the rise in tourist to liberalized E-visa regime. The fee collection this year till October 31 was $ 137,527,270 as against $ 105,558,496 in 2017. The top five countries whose nationals availed E-visa services are the UK (2,921,432), the US (2,213,393), China (1,270,224), France (1,071,855) and Germany (89,863), the ministry said. Citizens of 166 countries can avail the E-visa. “With the E-visa facility, the foreigner does not have to interact with any Indian official till the immigration counter,” the ministry said in a statement.

Maneka writes to Odisha CM on string of elephant deaths

BHUBANESWAR: Expressing her ‘grief and horror’ at the string of elephant deaths in Odisha, including the electrocution of a herd of seven tuskers last month, union minister for women and child development Maneka Gandhi has urged chief minister Naveen Patnaik to take urgent measures to stop such incidents. “The recent electrocution of seven tuskers in Dhenkanal, which is the highest