RLD state secretary shot by nephew in Barabanki, critical
Barabanki (UP) (PTI): Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) state secretary Afsar Ali was shot at and critically injured by his nephew over an alleged property dispute in Loharhar village, police said on Tuesday.
Ali, who lives with his family in Lucknow, had come to his native village to attend the last rites of an acquaintance in a neighbouring village, they said.
According to the police, after returning from the cremation, Ali was sitting and talking with villagers near a shop in the village when his nephew, Ubaid, arrived and fired at him with a country-made pistol. The pellets hit Ali in the chest, leaving him seriously injured.
Hearing the gunshot, villagers rushed to the spot and Ali was immediately taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Lucknow, where his condition remains critical, police said.
Following the incident, an additional police force was deployed in the village.
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Circle Officer Fatehpur Jagatram Kanojia inspected the spot and questioned family members.
Kanojia said preliminary investigation suggests that the incident was linked to an old property dispute.
A case has been registered and the accused, Ubaid, has been arrested and is being interrogated, he said.
Station House Officer Krishnakant Singh said the accused confessed during questioning that he had a long-standing land dispute with his uncle and carried out the attack due to personal enmity.
A case has been registered against four persons and further investigation is underway, he added.
Ali has been active in politics for a long time and currently serves as state secretary of the Jayant Chaudhary-led Rashtriya Lok Dal, police added.
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Abu Salem international criminal, can be given only 2-day parole: Maharashtra govt to HC
Mumbai (PTI): Gangster Abu Salem, convicted in the 1993 serial bomb blasts case, is an "international criminal" and hence can be granted only two-day emergency parole with police escort, the Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court on Tuesday.
Salem had sought 14 days' parole, citing his elder brother's death.
Public prosecutor Mankhuwar Deshmukh said a 14-day parole was not possible as Salem is an "international criminal".
"The prison authority has said he can be given two days' parole along with police escort, the cost of which he will have to bear," Deshmukh told the court.
Salem's lawyer, Farhana Shah, said two days will not be enough as he has to travel to Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh.
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"There is also no need for any police escort. He has been in jail for over two decades and is seeking emergency parole," Shah said, adding that Salem is an Indian citizen.
A bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Shyam Chandak directed the government to file an affidavit stating its apprehension to grant Salem 14 days' parole, and posted the matter for further hearing next week.
Salem, in his plea filed in December 2025, sought parole as his elder brother, Abu Hakim Ansari, passed away in November last year.
He had said his plea got delayed due to the court's Christmas vacation.
According to Salem's plea, he had applied for an emergency 14-day parole from the jail authorities to attend the last rites and related rituals of his late brother on November 15 itself.
However, the jail authorities rejected his plea by an order dated November 20, 2025.
Salem further pointed out that since his arrest in November 2005, he has been in jail and was only granted parole leaves of a few days after the death of his mother and also after the demise of his stepmother.
