New Delhi, Mar 19: The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Thursday suspended one Assistant commandant and three soldiers on the allegation of opening fire on a civilian mistaking him as a militant.

The incident took place on Wednesday evening in Jammu and Kashmir''s Pulwama district, where the CRPF men mistook the identity of a 32-year-old carpenter and shot him at his residence.

This case of carelessness on the part of the police force has angered the local residents, who staged massive protests on the streets.

New Delhi, Mar 19: Bharatiya Janashakti Party leader Uma Bharti on Thursday reiterated support to Bharatiya Janata Party''s prime ministerial candidate L K Advani.

"I have met Advani for the third time now. I have already met him twice earlier. I told him that I would offer all support to him that would be required for him to become the Prime Minister. But let me clarify once again that I don''t wish to join BJP, I am happy with my party and I am proud of it. I have not been able to fight elections due to lack of funds," said Bharti.

New Delhi, Mar 19 : The rate of inflation for the week ended March 7 fell to historic low of 0.44 per cent, from 2.43 per cent a week earlier, government data showed on Thursday.

Inflation, as measured by the wholesale price index is down by 0.4 per cent to 226.7, as compared to 227.7 a week earlier, mainly due to high base effect.

The annual inflation rate during the corresponding week of the previous year was 7.78 per cent

New Delhi - Suspected bandits burned to death 12 members of a family in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, news reports said Thursday.

The perpetrators set fire to the house of Beta Singh in Bichhiya village, located about 490 kilometres north-east of the state capital, Bhopal, the IANS and PTI news agencies reported.

Eleven members of the family died on the spot while another victim died on way to hospital, police said.

New Delhi  - India's annual rate of inflation declined to a two-decade low of 0.44 per cent for the week that ended March 7, the federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry said Thursday.

The wholesale price-linked inflation declined by 1.99 percentage points from the previous weel's 2.43 per cent, fuelling expectations that the federal Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was to further cut interest rates to boost a slowing economy.

The wholesale index includes a range of basic food items and utilities.

New Delhi, Mar 19: Sales of luxury clothes have gone down as people have started feeling the pinch of the global economic downturn, but designers at the ongoing Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, sounded optimistic.

Designers are refusing to rein in their creativity; they are using less expensive materials to construct this year''s must-haves.