Another journalist killed In UP, Opposition slams Akhilesh government

According to the state's Chief Minister's office, Yadav has also announced Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia compensation for the family of the journalist.

Earlier this morning, a journalist named Karun Misra was shot dead in Sultanpur District by unknown assailants on Saturday.

Misra was returning to his home around noon when three motorbike-borne assailants shot at him in Sultanpur.

Misra was rushed to hospital but he succumbed to bullet wounds on the way.  

Missing Indian Army captain found in Faizabad

Captain Shikhar Deep, 25, boarded Mahananda Express from Katihar to New Delhi on February 6. Reports say, Captain Deep was abducted after crossing the Patna station and kept in a deserted place. Deep, who managed to escape from the captors, boarded a train and reported at  Faizabad police station, Uttar Pradesh on Saturday morning.

Captain Shikhar Deep is posted in Jammu and Kashmir. His father, Lieutenant Colonel ​Anant Kumar, who is posted in Ranchi, today confirmed the reports of Deep's return and said that he has been found.

"He boarded a train on February 6 from Katihar. At New Delhi station, his luggage was found in the coach he was travelling but he was nowhere to be found. Today morning, I received a call from Faizabad police station that my son has been found and is safe, after which I informed SP Katiyal. For now, I can only say that Captain Deep has found and is safe," father of Captain Shikhar Deep told zeenewsindia.com.

The Indian Army had raised an alarm earlier this week seeking information from public about Captain Deep's whereabouts.  

Saifai wears festive look to celebrate Mulayam Singh's birthday

 

Singer A R Rahman being welcomed by Samajwadi Party M P Dharmendra Yadav on the eve of his performance at the birthday party of Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav at Safai airstrip on Friday.

 For people of Saifai, the native village of Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, it is like Diwali all over again.

Decked out in flowers and lights, buildings are wearing a bridal look for the celebration tomorrow of the 76^thbirthday of Mulayam, popularly known by the sobriquet of "netaji".

A cultural extravaganza, including a performance by Oscar- winning composer AR Rahman and his 300-member troupe, has been lined up as part of the three-day bash, which got off to a colourful start yesterday at Saifai, around 200km from state capital Lucknow.

This will be Rahman's maiden performance in Saifai. Massive fireworks lit up the night sky as people made a beeline for the village to wish their leader a long life and pray for his good health.

"Netaji's ties with Saifai are emotional. He is a father figure, our godfather," said Mahesh Yadav, an enthusiastic youth worker who was busy organising the grand show.

Arrangements have been made to shower rose petals on the SP supremo when he lands at the airstrip outside Saifai, where large-sized LED screens have been set up at vantage points to telecast live the razzmatazz birthday party.

A 76-kg cake has been ordered to mark the occasion while mouth-watering Italian, Chinese and Thai dishes will be prepared by renowned chefs from Delhi and Mumbai to treat around one lakh guests from a wide spectrum of the society.

The guest list includes almost everybody who is somebody; from former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda to Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, and from Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Hrithik Roshan to business tycoons. 

President of Ranvir Singh Smriti Saifai Mahotsav and MP Dharmendra Yadav, who are looking after the preparations, said all arrangements are in place for the gala event.

The indoor athletic stadium, where the main function will be held, has been decked out in the SP colours of green and red while hundreds of welcome gates and huge hoardings have come up on all the roads leading to Saifai.

Around 3,000 staff have been tasked with ensuring cleanliness while an equal number of security personnel from 15 districts have been deployed in and around the venue. Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has already reached Saifai.

The grand show, however, has invited the disapproval of opposition parties with BJP and Congress describing the event as a wastage of public money. "50 of the 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh have been declared drought-hit; the money could have been distributed among the affected farmers," said BJP spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak. UP PCC spokesman Amarnath Agarwal, too, said that the show was a waste of public money.

Uttar Pradesh Minister Azam Khan had last year organized a two-day celebration in Rampur to mark Mulayam's 75^th birthday. Mulayam had ridden on an imported Victorian-style 'buggy' for the Rampur bash, which had seen around 40 ministers gathering to take part in the costly festivities, fuelling criticism that was met with a caustic barb from Khan that Taliban and Dawood Ibrahim had provided funds for the event.