Six Pak troops killed in Poonch
4 Indian soldiers die in clash
JAMMU, Feb 16 — Six Pakistani and four Indian soldiers were killed in an encounter in Poonch district late last night. Defence sources said a patrol party of the Army was moving close to the Line of Control in Dehari village in the Mandhar subsector of Poonch district when Pakistani soldiers fired on them. Three Indian soldiers were killed on the spot and one was reported missing. But Pakistan has said that missing soldier’s body was across the border. Pakistan will handover the dead body tomorrow at Chakla post in the Pallanwalla sector at 1 p.m.

Shoot orders in Bihar
NEW DELHI, Feb 16 — Amid shoot-at-sight order and threats of Naxalite violence, Bihar and Orissa go to polls tomorrow for 108 and 70 Assembly constituencies respectively, with tight security measures in place.

4,200 ‘bogus’ voters in Solan
SOLAN, Feb 16 — The Congress and the BJP rebel candidate are keeping a watch on around 4200 “bogus” voters to prevent them from exercising their franchise in the byelection to the Solan Assembly seat tomorrow.

IAS officer jailed for graft
CHENNAI, Feb 16 — A special court found former Tamil Nadu Health Secretary K. Inbasagaran guilty of corruption charges levelled against him and sentenced him to one year’s rigorous imprisonment here today.Special Judge S. Sambandam held that the Directorate of vigilance and Anti-Corruption had proved beyond reasonable doubt its case against the suspended IAS officer who had been charged with accumulating unaccounted wealth totalling over Rs 54 lakh between April, 1978, and September, 1993.

Triangular contest on the cards
GURGAON, Feb 16 — Although there are 13 candidates in the fray, for this constituency, a three-cornered contest is on the cards. The Congress claims Gurgaon assembly seat to be its traditional bastion with Mr Dharamvir Gabba,a former minister, as its nominee. He has been elected thrice to the Vidhan Sabha. He represented Gurgaon in the recently dissolved assembly.

BJP disowns remarks on farm tax
NEW DELHI, Feb 16 — The BJP today clarified it has not written to the Union Finance Minister to tax the agriculture sector in the coming Budget. Party General Secretary M. Venkaiah Naidu said reports in a section of the Press — quoting party Vice-President Jana Krishnamurthy — in this regard were ‘‘totally incorrect’’.