Six Indians killed in Sri Lanka blasts
Colombo: At least six Indians have been killed in a string of eight powerful blasts, including suicide attacks, which struck three churches and luxury hotels frequented by foreigners in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, officials said on Monday.
The blasts targeted St Anthony's Church in Colombo, St Sebastian's Church in the western coastal town of Negombo and another church in the eastern town of Batticaloa around 8.45 a.m. (local time) as the Easter Sunday mass were in progress.
Three explosions were reported from the five-star hotels - the Shangri-La, the Cinnamon Grand and the Kingsbury. Foreigners and locals who were injured in hotel blasts were admitted to the Colombo General Hospital.
The police said on Monday that at least six Indian nationals have been reported among the foreigners who died in the blasts.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday identified two more individuals killed in the blasts on Sunday.
"We sadly confirm the deaths of the following two individuals in the blasts yesterday, K G Hanumantharayappa and M Rangappa," Swaraj retweetd Indian High Commission in Colombo's tweet.
On Sunday, Swaraj, in a series of tweets, identified the three Indians as Lakshmi, Narayan Chandrashekhar and Ramesh.
"Indian High Commission in Colombo has conveyed that National Hospital has informed them about the death of three Indian nationals," she said in a tweet.
On Sunday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan identified a Keralite, P S Rasina (58), among those killed in the deadly bomb blasts.
Around 500 people, including Indians, were injured in the blasts - one of the deadliest attacks in the country's history.
No group has claimed responsibility for Sunday's attacks.
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It's Laloo Prasad Yadav vs Rohini Acharya in Bihar's Saran LS seat
Patna (PTI): RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav's daughter Rohini Acharya's bid to reclaim the Saran Lok Sabha seat, once represented by the socialist leader, for the party is being challenged by a namesake of her father.
Contestant Laloo Prasad Yadav, a local farmer from Bihar's Saran district, the 'karmabhoomi' of his famous namesake, has a penchant for contesting elections.
This time, he filed his nomination papers as a candidate of the Rashtriya Jansambhavna Party (RJP) for Saran Lok Sabha seat on April 26.
Earlier, Laloo Prasad Yadav had filed his nominations for 2022 Presidential polls as well. He had also filed his nomination papers for the 2017 Presidential polls, which was a contest between the then Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind, who went on to win, and former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who was a native of the soil.
However, his papers got rejected in the 2017 Presidential polls since those were not endorsed by an adequate number of proposers.
"I have been contesting Lok Sabha polls from Saran constituency for the last several terms. I had contested against former Bihar chief minister Rabri Devi as well. This time, I am contesting against her daughter Rohini Acharya," Laloo Prasad Yadav told PTI over the phone.
He also exuded of "winning the election by a comfortable margin".
"I engage in agriculture for a living and also do social work. I keep trying my luck, from panchayat to Presidential polls. I am leaving no stone unturned to win this election... people of Saran are with me," Yadav said.
When asked about his opponents calling him 'dharti pakad' (one who clings on to the earth), a term associated with those who like to contest polls for the sake of thrill and publicity, and 'vote katwa' (one who divides votes), Yadav said, "I don't care about all these labels. They are my opponents and they will say such things. I contest polls only for the sake of my electorate in Saran."
According to the affidavit filed by the RJP candidate, Yadav has Rs 5 lakh cash in hand whereas his wife has 2 lakh cash. He owns movable assets worth Rs 17.60 lakh and his wife owns movable assets worth Rs 5.20 lakh.
