Kalpetta: Maoist killed in a clash with Thunderbolt in Wayanad. The incident took place on Tuesday morning at Valaram hill in the Banasura hills in the western police area. The Maoists opened fire on the Thunderbolt group, which was on a regular patrol. Indications are that one person was killed in the reverse Thunderbolt shooting.

Police say the other four members of the group escaped. The first information received is that the victim was not a Malayalee. A double-barreled gun and a pamphlet were seized from the victim. Banasura Hill is a stronghold of the Maoists. The Maoists had planned to attack the western police station on the anniversary of the Nilambur shootings. The project was stopped by the police after receiving a tip-off.

Founder member of the IS Kerala module arrested. Siddique ul Aslam, a native of Kanyakulangara, Thiruvananthapuram was arrested.

The arrested person is one of the founders of the Ansar ul Khilafat Kerala. Siddiqui was arrested by the NIA Kochi unit. He was captured and deported from Saudi Arabia.

Earlier, Interpol had issued a Red Corner Notice against Siddiqui. This was followed by an arrest. The NIA has revealed that he planned to carry out blasts in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Kochi: The trial of the case of attacking the actress has been stayed by the high court. The trial was adjourned till Friday after the actress filed a petition seeking transfer of the trial court in the case. The government had also given an affidavit that the trial court failed to record the statements of the actress and witnesses should change the court in the case.

In the light of all this, the High Court has clarified in the interim order. The assaulted actress was cross-examined and harassed for hours. When the accused told another actress in court that he would kill her, she denied it as hearsay. The affidavit submitted by the government to the court said that the trial court was not ready to record the statements of the actress and the witness. The court did not intervene despite trying to influence Manju Warrier, a key witness in the case, with his daughter and tried to influence to change the statement.The trial court allowed the actress to ask questions in a way that portrayed her badly. The government told the high court in its affidavit that the trial court should be changed because of all this. According to the petition, the trial was held in a manner that insulted even the witnesses and many witnesses refused to appear in court for fear of giving a statement.    

Thiruvananthapuram: Suspicion is rife in the incident where Santosh Eppan handed over his mobile phone to get the Life Mission contract. The details of the five mobile phone owners were handed over to the Directorate of Mobile Company Enforcement. Santhosh Eppan was using expensive mobiles. The Enforcement Directorate has given permission to interrogate Swapna, Sarith, and Sandeep in jail in a money laundering case.

There was a big controversy over the mobile phone given by Santhosh to get the Life Mission contract. Santosh Eppan bought a total of seven mobile phones. Of these, the details of five owners were handed over to ED by mobile companies. The five are Praveen, owner of an advertising company, Padmanabha Sharma manager of Air Arabia, M Sivashankar, Santosh Eppan, and Consul General. The other two are Additional Protocol Officer Rajeevan and Jithu from Kollam.The ED clarified that no official notification has been received in their case. The phone that was originally given to the Consul General was returned and brought a new one instead. With this, Santosh Eepan used the returned phone. The phone is priced at Rs 1.19 lakh. Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and BJP state president K Surendran, however, said they knew who was using the phone. Meanwhile, the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court of the Enforcement Directorate has given permission to interrogate Swapna Sarith and Sandeep in jail.

New Delhi: The CBI has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court in the Periya twin murder case. The affidavit states that the state government is not cooperating with the investigation and is not providing information. The CBI said that despite several letters seeking documents related to the case, there was no response from the police. The information was transmitted in a sealed cover. The case will be heard by the Supreme Court tomorrow.

The CBI had earlier told the apex court that the government was not providing documents related to the case. CBI sources said that the government was not cooperating but would continue with the investigation and had collected the phone details of several people.

Zachariah, a short story writer, and novelist have won the State Government’s Ezhuthachan Award 2020 for his comprehensive contribution to the field of literature.

The award carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh, a citation, and a plaque. Culture Minister AK Balan announced the award at a press conference.

The winner was chosen by a jury consisting of Sahitya Akademi President Vaishakhan, Sachidanandan, M. Thomas Mathew, KG Paulose, and Secretary of the Department of Culture Rani George. The award will be presented by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at a function to be held at the Secretariat Durbar Hall.