BJP working president J P Nadda has been accorded with 'Z' category security and he will be guarded by the commandos of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) round the clock, officials said on Thursday.

Unidentified miscreants killed a 55-year-old journalist by slitting his throat near Dubouli village in Kushinagar district on Thursday morning, police said.

A 17-year old girl died after she was allegedly set ablaze by a man at her house early on Thursday near here, police said. The youth who professed love for her allegedly committed the crime after she spurned his proposal.

Tamil Nadu has said Karnataka's proposal to construct a reservoir across river Cauvery at Mekedatu was "untenable and ought to be rejected outright" and urged the Centre against giving its nod for the project following a fresh appeal by the upper riparian state.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said defamation cases filed against him were an attempt by his political rivals deperate to silence him.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday appeared before a magisterial court and pleaded not guilty in a criminal defamation case filed against him for his "why do all thieves share the Modi surname" remarks.

 A five-month-old baby, who was injured during a scuffle between his mother and father, died in east Delhi's Kondli area, police said on Wednesday. According to police, a scuffle broke out between 29-year-old Dipti and her husband Satyajit (32) on Sunday, following which he started beating her with a stick.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Thursday released three politicians who were under detention since August 5 when the Centre abrogated the special status granted to the state under the Constitution, officials said.