Two die as car rams into tree in bid to avoid hitting cow

New Delhi, Feb 13: Ashoka Buildcon on Thursday said it has emerged as the lower bidder for a highway project worth Rs 1,035.5 crore in Karnataka.

The project entails four laning of a section of NH-206 in the state.

Ashoka Buildcon had submitted its bid to National Highways Authority of India for the project to be built on hybrid annuity mode under Bharatmala Pariyojana, it said in a BSE filing.

"The company emerged as the lowest bidder at the financial bid opening meeting held on February 13," Ashoka Buildcon said.

The quoted bid project cost for the project is Rs 1,035.50 crore, it added.

The company's stock was trading at Rs 103.05, down 2.78 per cent, on the BSE.

Bengaluru, Mar 6: All the arrested in a case of sedition filed over a school play in Karnataka's Bidar have been granted anticipatory bail by a court that said the case lacked enough basis.

The play, themed on protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), "has not caused any disharmony in the society", said the district and sessions court in Bidar.

The play, performed in January by the children of prestigious Shaheen School, landed in trouble when a sedition complaint was filed over an 11-year-old girl's lines - enacting an elderly woman, she said if anyone asked for documents she would hit them with slippers.

That led to a sedition case and the police questioning children, teachers and the school management over many rounds.

"The drama has not caused any disharmony in the society. Considering all the circumstances, I am of the opinion that the ingredients of Section 124A of IPC (Sedition) are prima facie lacking," said the court.

Five members of the school management team have been granted protection from arrest. Earlier, the head teacher and the mother of the student who spoke the dialogue were sent to custody, but on other charges including the abetment of an offence. They were not accused of sedition. They were later granted bail.

The repeated questioning of young students and the arrest of the widowed mother of a student caused a huge uproar in the town.

An order is expected soon on the bail application in another sedition case in Karnataka, against three Kashmiri students. The students, who were studying in Hubbali in north Karnataka, are facing charges for reportedly using pro-Pakistani slogans in an online post. The Hubbali Bar Association had asked its members not to represent the students. Lawyers from Bengaluru who went to Hubbali represent the students were heckled.

On Thursday, a team of lawyers from different districts again went to Hubballi and were provided police protection. BT Venkatesh, one of the lawyers, said he had a meeting with bar association members and that the matter was sorted out. The students have applied for bail and an order is expected next week.

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 26: The Kerala Police on Wednesday arrested a man who had threatened people protesting against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Delhi on social media.

"The person was arrested by Agali police in Palakkad district for trying to instigate communal violence," the Police said.

On Tuesday, Kerala DGP Lokanath Behera had said that strict action will be taken against those who try to create any communal divide.

"Action will be taken against those who create or forward such messages that create communal tension through social media. All messages on social media are under police surveillance," he said.