Ghaziabad, Jan 4 : Two motorcycle-borne men looted the cashier of an edible oil trading firm of Rs. 230,000 at gunpoint in Hapur town of Ghaziabad district Monday, police said.

Sunil, a cashier with Shivam Traders, was taking the cash to a bank in Raghvir Nagar area of the city when the two motorcycle riding men stopped him at gunpoint. They snatched the bag containing the cash, hit Sunil on the head with a pistol butt when he tried to resist, and fled.

Local residents took Sunil to a local nursing home where he was discharged after first aid.

Lucknow, Jan 4 : Four railway crew members have been suspended for the two train accidents that occurred in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur and Etawah districts Saturday morning, an official said Monday.

As many as 11 people were killed when the Gorakhdham Express collided with the stationary Prayagraj Express in Kanpur. No casualties were reported when the Lichchavi Express rammed into the Magadh Express in Etawah in the other accident. Both accidents occurred in thick fog.

Ghaziabad, Jan 4 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here Monday reserved its order on granting permission for a narco test on Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, the parents of 14-year-old Aarushi Talwar who was found murdered in their Noida house on May 16, 2008.

The court reserved its order after hearing the arguments of the CBI.(IANS)

Lucknow, Jan 4 : Demanding scrapping of the Ranganath Mishra Commission report on reservation for minorities, former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh Monday said there was an "urgent need to redefine" minorities.

"The Ranganath Mishra Commission report is unconstitutional. It should be scrapped. BJP demands the government to redefine minorities with respect to district level, regional level and national level," he told reporters here at a press conference.

Lucknow, Jan 4 - The cold wave has claimed at least 30 lives in Uttar Pradesh since Saturday, an official said Monday. The met office has predicted no change in the weather for the next two-three days.

"Of the 30 deaths, the maximum have taken place in the eastern regions, including Mirzapur district, Ballia district, where five deaths each were reported Sunday," an official of the disaster management department told IANS.

Ghaziabad, Jan 4 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Monday sought permission of a local court to conduct narco-tests on Rajesh and Nupur Talwar, parents of 14-year-old Aarushi Talwar who was found murdered in her NOIDA house in May 2008. (IANS)

Lucknow, Jan 4 - A tiger sneaked out of the Dudhwa reserve forest in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur district and attacked a 15-year-old girl, an official said Monday.

"The tiger attacked the girl Sunday. Seriously injured in the attack, the girl is undergoing treatment and her condition is critical," Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), K. K. Singh told reporters in Lakhimpur, about 180 km from state capital Lucknow.

Bodh Gaya (Bihar), Jan 4 : Buddhist monks converged at Bodh Gaya here to witness a musical play depicting the life cycle of Karmapa Ujjain Trinela Dorjee, their 17th spiritual leader.

A huge crowd that had gathered to witness the breathtaking performance got deeply involved in the play.

New Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Jan 4 : With temperatures dipping below normal and snowfall witnessed in the upper reaches of Himachal Pradesh and the Kashmir Valley, the normal routine of the people was disturbed for the third consecutive day and over 100 deaths were reported in Uttar Pradesh.

The states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have been the worst affected by the intense cold conditions.

A dense fog continues to prevail in Uttar Pradesh and the maximum temperature was recorded at 2 to 10 degrees Celsius below normal in most parts of the state.

Lucknow, Jan 3 - Rail services were restored between Delhi and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh Sunday, a day after 10 people were killed when two trains collided in Kanpur district, an official said.

"Initially, we managed to restore the uplink track and later the down track was also restored," additional divisional railway manager (Allahabad) D. K. Singh told reporters.

Lucknow, Jan 2 : A thick blanket of fog and cold conditions would continue to grip parts of Uttar Pradesh for at least the next two days, the weatherman said Saturday.

Although the western disturbance in the central and the eastern parts of the state has fizzled out, it has left behind enough moisture, which due to cold conditions, has converted into thick dense fog enveloping most parts of the state, Met officials said.

"There will be no change in the weather conditions for the next two days or so," state Met director J. P. Gupta, told reporters here.

Ghaziabad, Jan 2 : The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) Saturday opened the much awaited Rajapur-Diamond Palace Railway Over Bridge (ROB) that is expected to provide relief to motorists entering the city.

The bridge has been constructed on the New Delhi-Lucknow railway line and connects prominent colonies of Ghaziabad with Delhi and Noida.

Noida, Jan 2 : A criminal wanted in many cases and carrying a cash reward of Rs. 50,000 for his capture was shot dead in Noida, police said Saturday. An AK-47 assault rifle and a pistol were recovered from him.

Inspector General of Police (Meerut Range) Zaved Akhtar said the police control room had received a message that two people had snatched a Wagon-R from Sector 39.

The control room flashed a message to all police stations to conduct extensive checking, he said.

Agra, Jan 2 : India is close to developing a vaccine to prevent swine flu and it should be ready by March or April, a senior health official said Saturday.

"We are close to developing effective vaccines to contain swine flu. One company has already begun testing on humans, while two other companies have concluded trials on animals. Definitely in March, by April-end 100 percent, we should have the vaccines," Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) chief and secretary, health research V. M. Katoch told IANS.

Noida, Jan 2 : Bollywood star Aamir Khan is known to strive for perfection. He now plans to take a break from acting this year as he wants to concentrate on his role as the producer of "Delhi Belly", "Peepli Live" and "Dhobi Ghat".

"I want to take a break from acting this year. So no shootings for me. I would like to concentrate more as a producer," Aamir said at a press conference in Big Cinemas here late Friday.

Lucknow, Jan 2 : At least five people were killed and more than 50 injured in three separate train accidents that took place on Saturday due to intense foggy conditions.

Gorakhdham Express and Prayagraj Express collided near the Panki railway station in Kanpur around 8.30am.

"The accident occurred around 8.30 am. Prayagraj Express was standing and the Gorakhdham hit it from the back. Last two coaches of Prayagraj are completely damaged. At present there are five reported casualties," said Anil Sagar, District Magistrate, Kanpur.

Lucknow, Jan 2 :  Dense fog led to two train collisions in Uttar Pradesh early Saturday, injuring 11. While 10 people were injured when two trains collided in Kanpur district, the train driver was seriously hurt in an accident in Etawah district, officials said.

The Gorakhdham Express and Prayagraj Express collided near the Panki railway station in Kanpur, some 90 km from here. While 10 people were hurt, some passengers could still be trapped inside three coaches that have been badly damaged, officials said.

Kanpur, Jan 2 : Two train accidents took place in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday morning due to intense foggy conditions, leaving ten dead and over 50 others injured.

The first accident took place at Etawah near Kanpur, where the Litchvi Express rammed into the Magadh Express.

The collision killed the driver of the Litchvi Express, and left around 25 others injured in the mishap.

Both trains were enroute to Delhi from Patna.

Lucknow, Jan 2 - Two passenger trains collided in Uttar Pradesh's Etawah district early Saturday due to dense fog, an official said. No casualties were reported.

The accident took place near Sarai Bhupat railway station in Etawah, some 300 km from here, when the Lichchavi Express collided with the Magadh Express.

"It is yet to be ascertained whether the accident caused any casualty," a railway police official told IANS.

"It appears that the collision took place due to heavy fog," he said.

Lucknow, Jan 2 - Four men were arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Meerut district for smuggling contraband, arms and ammunition, police said Saturday.

The men, in their 30s, were nabbed Friday night near Aroma Garden in Meerut, some 400 km from Lucknow, with 33 pistols and 66 magazines hidden in a secret compartment of a car.

"Acting on a tip-off, in a joint operation with the special operation group (SOG), we intercepted an Ambassador car and nabbed the four men after a brief gunfight," Deputy Superintendent of Police A. K. Srivastava told IANS.