Fraud at SBI

Nagpur, July 29 (PTI): Police booked a State Bank of India cashier today for allegedly siphoning off Rs 1 crore from savings accounts. Surendra Laxman Nikose, who worked at the Panchpaoli branch, withdrew Rs 99,55,000 from the accounts of around 35 customers between July 14, 2006, and July 5, 2007, by forging signatures.

Nikose was suspended by the bank and is absconding. The police registered an offence under the IPC after branch manager Hansda Dhone filed a complaint.

Idli prize

Coimbatore (PTI): A 22-year-old has devoured 22 idlis in five minutes and bagged the first prize in an eating competition. The contest was part of a three-day food festival arranged for a fund-raising programme to revive the Noyyal river.

Disney order

New Delhi (PTI): Delhi High Court has restrained a Mumbai-based household wares company from making or selling products using popular Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse. The order was passed on a trademark infringement suit filed by Disney Enterprises Inc.

Bomb hoax

Madurai (PTI): A phone call threatening that bombs had been planted at the staff quarters of a city prison created tension on Sunday. Sniffer dogs were pressed into service and metal detectors were used to find the explosives, but the call turned out to be hoax.

Jawan injured

Jammu (PTI): A special task force jawan was injured in an ambush by militants in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir. Militants opened fire on the STF patrol party on Saturday night. Mohammad Ashraf was injured in the ensuing gunbattle.

IT conference

New Delhi (PTI): About 1,200 IT experts from over 40 countries will participate in a four-day conference on e-governance and digital learning beginning on July 31. The conference, titled EIndia 2007, will discuss common challenges and extraordinary solutions for the digital divide.