UP cabinet minister Durga Prasad Yadav, police, villagers and administrative officers watched as a local priest in Chandauli immersed himself in a pot of boiling milk, then threw his head into a pit of burning embers.

The act continued all day. It was not an attempt at suicide it was an act of faith performed by the priest.

While photographers took pictures and locals cheered no one attempted to deter the God-man from continuing. Locals say the priest also poured milk on a minor in full view of his audience as the police and spectators stood by and watched in silence.

The same priest, months earlier, made a huge fuss after he was refused permission to pray buried six feet under sand during the Kumbh.

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Some 47,530 tonnes of wheat badly stocked by the food and supplies department at warehouses in Palwal district, Haryana, has been damaged.

The wheat was meant for distribution under various government-sponsored schemes like PDS, mid-day meals, grains for work and for supply to grain-deficit states.

The state government has suspended the district food and supply controller Parmod Sharma after a probe was conducted by the food and supplies department.

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Recently the Punjab government found that cancer prevalence figures in the state are much higher than the national average. It found that some 23,874 patients diagnosed with cancer were sent for treatment to 37 empanelled hospitals of which 11 were absolutely defunct.

The discovery made a cruel joke of the state government's grand initiative on early detection and treatment of cancer. The Health Minister also is not sure how the plight of these patients can be mitigated. He did say the hospitals will be de-listed but offered no hope for the patients.

The report discovered that not only are the private empanelled hospitals ill-equipped, two state-run medical colleges in Amritsar and Patiala have no trained medical physicists for radiography. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board only recognises a cancer hospital after it has a qualified physicist.

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The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took suo motu cognizance of a media report that said in an alleged case of theft, Lucknow police picked up a 5-year-old boy, subjected him to severe torture, and gave him electric shocks to his ears. The boy had injuries behind his ears when he was presented before the Juvenile Justice Board.

Police denied the allegations saying the boy was beaten up before being handed over to them.

The Board has ordered the boy's immediate release on bail. The Commission has issued a notice to the police authorities in Lucknow to submit a report within four weeks.

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3 followers of an Indian guru, aged 16, 30 and 50 who lived at a monastery in south India dedicated to the Lord Shiva committed suicide by jumping on a burning wood pyre, saying they wanted to join their leader who killed himself over a month earlier.

The men wrote in a suicide note that they were 'leaving the world to join guru Gyaneshwar, as there is no meaning in living anymore'.

Monastery devotees say Gyaneshwar, 58, the senior guru, decided to end his life because of unhealthy developments in his religious organisation. He was believed to be worried about attempts by real estate agents to usurp the monastery' property in connivance with some disciples who wanted a share of the deal.

His successor, Maruthi, disappeared two days after his death and has not been seen since by monastery occupants, who believe he was abducted by people looking to encroach on the valuable property.

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