Shimla (PTI): BJP rebel K L Thakur, who contested as an Independent, won from Nalagarh assembly seat in Himachal Pradesh on Thursday, according to the Election Commission.

Thakur defeated his nearest Congress rival Hardeep Singh Bawa by a margin of 13,264 votes.

Thakur had won the 2012 state polls on a BJP ticket but lost in 2017 and was denied a ticket by the party this time.

The BJP chose Lakhwinder Singh Rana, a two-term Congress MLA, who jumped ship ahead of the elections.

All the three Independent candidates in the fray -- Thakur, Hoshiyar Singh from Dehra and Ashish Sharma from Hamirpur -- were BJP rebels.

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Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.

The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).

"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.

The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.

The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.

Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.

They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.

Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.