Bhopal, Feb 5 - Car manufacturers are setting their eyes on smaller Indian cities and towns as markets boom for their products, particularly sale of luxury vehicles.

And one such city is the Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal where an Auto Expo is going on. At least 14 major manufacturers, including Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan, BMW, Jaguar, Renault, and Mahindra and Mahindra, are participating in the four-day trade fair.

Bhopal, Sep 26 - If following one's passion could guarantee success, Mansoor Ahmad Farooqui would have been a multi-millionaire by now. The 47-year-old Bhopal resident is an ardent fan of Mohammad Rafi and has a collection of over 5,000 songs sung by the late singer, rare photographs, 15 books on Rafi and pages from his personal diary - all on display in a museum in his humble two-room rented house.

Mansoor is a verbal encyclopaedia on the playback singer.

Bhopal, Sep 26 - If following one's passion could guarantee success, Mansoor Ahmad Farooqui would have been a multi-millionaire by now. The 47-year-old Bhopal resident is an ardent fan of Mohammad Rafi and has a collection of over 5,000 songs sung by the late singer, rare photographs, 15 books on Rafi and pages from his personal diary - all on display in a museum in his humble two-room rented house.

Mansoor is a verbal encyclopaedia on the playback singer.

Bhopal, Aug 25 : One is a telecom engineer, another is an event manager, the third one is contractor and the fourth quit his government job to become a social activist. On a fast here in support of Anna Hazare's demand for a strong Lokpal bill, their condition is slowly deteriorating, one of the quartet said Thursday.

Bhopal, Feb 18 - Three assistant directors and more than 65 supporting artists are among the many Bhopal locals who have got a golden opportunity to be part of Bollywood, thanks to Prakash Jha's "Aarakshan". Some are just happy to feature in the crowds in film scenes.

The film is helping budding talent from the city find a foothold in showbiz, says Zohaib Ali who has been hired as an assistant director to work on "Aarakshan", which stars Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone and Manoj Bajpai.

After a lot of hullabalu around the Bhopal gas tragedy, the government has finally taken a step which is worth noting. The group of ministers (GoM) has vetoed a request that asked for dumping3 47 metric tonnes of toxic waste of the Union Carbide’s Bhopal plant at Pithampur-based Treatment Storage Disposal Facility (TSDF) in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.

Talking to media, Babulal Gaur, urban administration and development minister in the Madhya Pradesh government said that the GoM has decided against dumping of toxic as it will lead to serious concerns about the environment.

For Bachchan bahu, her family relationships come first! She has also proved this recently.

Despite illness, she went to Bhopal in order to celebrate the 80th birth anniversary of her loving hubby's maternal grandmother.

A source close to Ash said that this was a promise the pair had made to Jaya's mother sometime back.

Bhopal, Feb 12 - "My Name is Khan" was released all over Madhya Pradesh Friday, amidst minor protests by Shiv Sainiks. The movie drew a huge crowd with the first show going house full at many theatres across the state.

The Shiv Sena is opposing the film's release after Shah Rukh Khan refused to apologise for saying that Pakistani cricketers should have been included in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches.

About 15-20 Shiv Sena activists held a demonstration at Jyoti Talkies here but their attempt to disrupt the show remained futile as many policemen had been deployed at all the three theatres where the movie has been released.

Bhopal, Jan 27 - Yash Raj Films, producer of the Shah Rukh Khan starrer "Chak De India", have donated Rs. 2 lakh for the welfare of women hockey players in India, who are agitating against non-payment of their dues.

Senior player Deepika Murthy received an SMS about the donation from Yash Raj Films Monday, chief coach of the team M. K. Kaushik confirmed Wednesday.

"With this the total balance in the joint account opened by the players in a bank at Bhopal will reach Rs. 3,09,000," he said.

Bhopal, Jan 11 : Unaccounted assets worth over Rs. 2 crore have been found during search operations conducted at the houses of Ujjain Additional Collector Prahlad Amarchiva in Madhya Pradesh, an official said Monday.

"A Lokayukta (ombudsman) squad raided the house and other premises of Additional Collector Prahlad Amarchiva in Ujjain Sunday and unearthed cash, jewellery and properties worth over Rs. 2 crore," said Superintendent of Police (Lokayukta) Avinash Sharma.

Amarchiva is posted as protocol officer in Ujjain district.

Bhopal, Jan 11- A hunt has been launched for Asha Rani, a legislator of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Bijawar in Madhya Pradesh, who has been booked for allegedly abetting the suicide of her domestic help in 2007.

Police officials said Monday they are also looking for six other suspects.

A case has also been registered against Asha Rani and her husband Ashok Vir Vikram Singh alias Bhaiya Raja, a former legislator, on the charge of abducting the maidservant, keeping her as a bonded labourer and sexually abusing her.

He is already in judicial custody for allegedly murdering his 21-year-old grand-niece Vasundhara Bundela, alias Nishi, whose bullet-riddled body was found in the city's Misrod area Dec 11 last year.

Bhopal, Jan 11- A hunt has been launched for Asha Rani, a legislator of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from Bijawar in Madhya Pradesh, who has been booked for allegedly abetting the suicide of her domestic help in 2007.

Police officials said Monday they are also looking for six other suspects.

A case has also been registered against Asha Rani and her husband Ashok Vir Vikram Singh alias Bhaiya Raja, a former legislator, on the charge of abducting the maidservant, keeping her as a bonded labourer and sexually abusing her.

He is already in judicial custody for allegedly murdering his 21-year-old grand-niece Vasundhara Bundela, alias Nishi, whose bullet-riddled body was found in the city's Misrod area Dec 11 last year.

Bhopal, Jan 10 - Asha Rani, a legislator of the ruling-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Madhya Pradesh, has been booked for abetting the suicide of her domestic help in 2007, while a case has also been registered against her husband Ashok Vir Vikram Singh for abduction and rape of the maid, police said Sunday.

"The fresh FIR (first information report) was registered in connection with the suicide of their domestic help. The victim, Tijji Bai, who had sustained serious burn injuries was found dead at the Bhopal residence of the leader in November 2007," a senior police officer told IANS.

Bhopal, Jan 8 : Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Sing Chouhan Friday sought cooperation from all political parties and social groups in reaching consensus of electoral reforms, such as fixed terms for legislatures and simultaneous elections to parliament and state assemblies.

In separate letters to legislators, members of parliament, national leaders of various political parties and social activists, Chouhan suggested that elctions to both the Lok Sabha and state assemblies be held simultaneously and the elected houses be run mandatorily for full term of five years.

Bhopal, Jan 8 : The Madhya Pradesh government's Women and Child Development (WCD) department is all set to launch a website for missing children in the state which could help in identifying and tracing them, an official said Friday.

"We are planning a website for the missing children, so that they could be clearly identified," the department's deputy director and Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) in-charge Mamta Pathak told IANS, adding that the initiative would help to trace and rehabilitate missing children.

Bhopal, Jan 7 - Five persons, including a local BJP leader, were killed when a speeding truck hit their car in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh, police said Thursday.

The victims were on their way to Shivpuri town, 325 kms from here, late Wednesday when the accident occurred.

They have been identified as local BJP leader K. K. Mishra, Keshav Pathak, Kasturi, Arvind and Naal Singh.

The police said that a case has been registered against the truck driver, who is absconding. (IANS)

Bhopal, Jan 6 : Tension prevailed in parts of Sagar town in Madhya Pradesh Wednesday after a corporator was shot dead by a dismissed soldier, police said.

Subhash Ghoshi, formerly of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), was shot dead after an altercation with the accused, Khoob Singh, who is with the BJP Defence Cell.

"Supporters of the corporator stoned Khoob Singh's residence. The situation is now under control," Sagar's Superintendent of Police Vijay Raghuvanshi told IANS. (IANS)

Bhopal, Jan 6 : Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to intervene and resolve the matter regarding the shutting down of the Madhya Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (MPRTC) and granting voluntary retirement from service (VRS) to its employees.

In a letter to the prime minister Tuesday, Chouhan also expressed concern over the "inconsistent response" of central ministries on the closure of the state transport body which, he said, has been hanging in balance since 2005.

Bhopal, Jan 6 - The Madhya Pradesh government will blacklist suppliers of drugs and equipment if they fail to deliver required items within 45 days of placing an order, an official said Wednesday.

Under the new drug policy, "if a supplier does not supply the required items within 45 days, he will be blacklisted and penalty of up to 20 percent will be imposed on him", the official said.

Bhopal, Jan 5 : Normalcy appeared to be fast returning to Maksi town in Shajapur district of Madhya Pradesh after an indefinite curfew was imposed following a clash between two groups over a cricket match last week, police said Tuesday.

"Curfew has been relaxed since 9.00 a. m. Tuesday and the relaxation will continue up to 7 p. m. if no untoward incident occurs," Shajapur District Collector R. K. Sharma told IANS.