Patna March 24 PTI The Bihar government will soon start the process of fencing around 4500 temples or mutts in the state minister Pramod Kumar told the Assembly on ThursdayKumar said the measure was being taken to prevent encroachment of temple landThe planning and development department on March 11 requested the home department to release funds for building fences around 4500 registered temples and mutts in the state the law minister saidThe minister further stated that his department has directed administrative heads of all districts to appoint nodal officers to manage the functioning of another 2176 unregistered temples or mutts Instructions have also been issued to furnish revenue records of 3212 acres worth several crores of rupees belonging to these unregistered temples These properties will soon be declared as government land after certain changes are made in the existing laws said KumarAfter the appointment of the nodal officers these unregistered temples will function under the direct supervision of the Bihar State Religious Trust Council BSRTC said the ministerEchoing similar view Ram Surat Rai Bihar minister for land reforms and revenue said the decision to run the temples under BSRTC had been taken to stop large-scale irregularities PTI PKD RMS RMS

Jamshedpur Dec 24 PTI A fact-finding team constituted by the Congress claimed that intelligence failure was the reason behind the Nagaland firings in which 14 civilians were killed by security forces earlier this monthThe team comprising former Union minister Jitendra Singh MPs Gaurav Gogoi and Anto Antony and former MP Ajoy Kumar submitted their report to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on ThursdayKumar who is the partys in-charge of Nagaland in a statement issued here on Friday said the team was formed on the direction of Gandhi to look into the causes of the incidentThe report took on Union Home Minister Amit Shah alleging that he lied on the floor of Parliament over the incident and questioning why he has not visited the spotShah had told the House that a vehicle was signalled to stop but it tried to speed away and suspecting the presence of extremists in the vehicle the security personnel opened fireA Congress team had left Delhi to visit the spot on December 9 but were stopped at the Jorhat airport However they were allowed to meet the injured undergoing treatment at Dibrugarh hospital following strong protest the statement saidThe injured persons had made startling revelation to the Congress delegation clearly indicating that the home minister had lied it claimedSecurity forces opened fire on civilians killing 14 and injuring 11 in Nagalands Mon district in consecutive episodes the first of which was a case of mistaken identity according to police One soldier also died in the rioting that followed PTI CORR SOM SOM