At least two Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in a forest along the Ganjam-Kandhamal border in Odisha on Sunday, a police officer said.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday accused the BJP government of "playing" with his security and sought an explanation for the withdrawal of the National Security Guard (NSG) cover provided to him.

Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday launched a sharp counterattack on Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, asserting that his charge that the CM had “dragged caste into the picture for the sake of a chair” was made in all seriousness and not in jest.

An Army man, a dismissed Punjab Police personnel and two women were among six people arrested on Sunday as the state police unearthed a well-organised heroin trafficking network.

BJP MLA Dr Chandru Lamani, caught allegedly accepting a Rs 5 lakh bribe from a contractor, has been remanded to judicial custody until March 3.

The Indian Coast Guard has intercepted a foreign boat in the Arabian Sea off Gujarat and apprehended four Iranian nationals after seizing 200 cartons of foreign brand cigarettes valued nearly Rs 5 crore, the ICG said on Sunday. 

The arrest of Sabarimala Tantri Kadararu Rajeevaru in the gold loss case triggered a fresh war of words in Kerala on Sunday with the opposition Congress alleging that the chief priest was "deliberately trapped" in the case, while the ruling CPI(M) said he figured in a "list of big thieves".

An 86-year-old British national was found dead in his room at a hotel in Lower Kaithu area of Shimla city, police said on Saturday.