Wahab Riaz booked for violating one-dish rule in Lahore party

Lahore:  A case has been registered against Pakistani cricketer Wahab Riaz for violating "one dish" rule at a party he arranged in connection with his marriage at his residence here.

A police team raided his Garden Town residence on Sunday and registered an FIR under section 188 of Pakistan Penal Code against him for violating a ban on more than one dishes at marriage ceremonies.

Riaz's nikah is scheduled for November 28.

In Punjab, a province of 90 million, the government has banned serving more than one dish at marriage functions that could not last 10pm.

"How could police raid and register a case against my son when we were holding the marriage function inside our house," Riaz's father Sheikh Sikandar said.

He said a police official heading the raiding team wanted "some money" and when his demand was not met he registered the case on the pretext of violating one dish rule.

Station House Officer Adnan Maqsood said the police raided the cricketer's house on the complaint of city district government official Muhammad Amer.

The Punjab government has ordered an inquiry into the matter.

3 killed in Bangalore building collapse

Three persons including a two-year-old girl were buried alive when their house collapsed on them in Jai Krishnappa compound in Adugodi in Bangalore on Tuesday.

The deceased have been identified as Bhola Singh, 22, Malkan Singh, 20, both street vendors, and Savitha, 2. Another inmate of the house Rajbir Singh, 21, who sustained injuries, has been admitted to St John’s Hospital.

An official of Fire and Emergency services, which have been deployed for rescue operation, feared that that a 45-year-old woman, who is missing, could be trapped underneath the debris. Rescue operations were being carried out by deploying earth movers and excavators.

The collapsed house was situated atop a godown in the compound. The collapse of the house around 8.45 am also led to crumbling down of a row of houses adjoining the godown, officials said.

While two families occupied the house atop the godown, about ten to twelve people resided in the other adjoining houses that crashed subsequently. Most of the families living in the complex were daily wagers, who had left for work in the morning. Or else, the number of casualties could have been higher, a police official added.

Police said that the houses in the compound were about 40 years old and incessant rains over the last two or three days could have caused the collapse.

Karnataka minister Santosh Lad quits over mining scam

Bangalore: The multi-crore mining scam in Karnataka Friday cost Congress minister Santosh Lad his job amid mounting pressure for his resignation ahead of the state legislature's session from Nov 25 at Belgaum.

Ending the day-long suspense and political drama, the 34-year-old mining baron, who was minister of state for infrastructure development, information and Kannada and culture departments finally submitted his resignation letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

"I have tendered my resignation to the chief minister in view of the allegations of illegal mining against me and my company and to avoid any embarrassment to our government," Lad told reporters later.

Lad's mining firm V.S. Lad & Sons was indicted by then Karnataka ombudsman (Lokayukta) Justice N. Santosh Hegde for illegally extracting and supplying about 10,000 tonnes of iron ore during 2008-10 from Sandur mines in Bellary district, about 330km from here.

Lad's firm is also being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a Supreme Court directive after its appointed central empowered committee (CEC) classified it under 'C' category mining lessee and directed the state government to cancel its license for allegedly committing large scale illegal mining.

"Though there was no pressure from the CM or the party's high command, I have resigned because I don't want my party to be embarrassed further. I am open to investigations and am sure I will be proved innocent," Lad asserted.

Lad is the first minister to quit the six-month-old Congress government after the party returned to power following its victory in the state legislative assembly elections in May.

The resignation came after whistle-blower S.R. Hiremath of Samaja Parivartanan Samudayaa, an NGO, on whose petition the apex court ordered the CBI probe, recently met Governor H.R. Bhardwaj with documentary evidence to seek Lad's removal from the cabinet.

After the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmakers petitioned the governor with the same demand, Bhardwaj advised the chief minister to look into the matter.

The BJP and two other opposition parties -- Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) threatened to disrupt the state legislature session at Belguam, about 500 km from here in northern Karnataka, if Lad was not removed from the ministry.

The Lad family has been in mining business for decades and the controversy over Santosh Lad's alleged involvement in illegal mining has pitted him against his cousin Anil Lad, a Congress lawmaker from Bellary district.

Indian-American woman dragged to death in US

Boston: In a tragic incident, a 58-year-old Indian-American woman was killed when a youth struck her with a pickup vehicle and dragged her for nearly five kilometres after an altercation at a motel, police said.

Kanchanben Patel and her husband, who worked at the motel, were hit by the youth who had an altercation with them about illegal use of a room.

Moses Acloque, 22, hit Kanchanben with his pickup truck and dragged her for three miles, killing her, police said.

Acloque was arrested in Foxborough late Monday night just after a state trooper reported seeing the body of Kanchanben under his Ford F150 vehicle.

Employees at Arbor Inn Motel told police that Acloque and another man had sped away from their property after refusing to pay their bill when he hit the couple, who recently celebrated becoming US citizens.

After smashing one car, MyFoxBoston reports, he struck Kanchanben and her husband. Acloque was arraigned this morning in Wrentham District Court on multiple charges, including leaving the scene of an accident causing death, prosecutors said.

Uddhav's brother opposes Thackeray's Shivaji Park memorial

Mumbai: In an embarrassment for the Shiv Sena, the late Bal Thackeray's elder son Jaidev Sunday expressed strong opposition to a memorial dedicated to his father at Shivaji Park here.

Jaidev, the estranged elder brother of Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray, said there is no need for a statue or memorial to be built at the historic ground in Dadar west and its status as a play-cum-recreation ground should remain undisturbed.

"I feel that those Shiv Sena leaders who have made it big in the party should contribute money and buy land somewhere in the city for the statue or memorial. They can even construct it in the mayor's bungalow compound. Why should it be constructed at Shivaji Park," Jaidev asked mediapersons, even as lakhs of people converged on the ground to mark Thackeray's first death anniversary.

In the past one year, there have been demands from various quarters to erect a befitting statue of the late Thackeray at Shivaji Park, which had a special place for him during his lifetime.

Jaidev said only a statue of the great warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji should adorn Shivaji Park.

Going a step further, he added that there is no need for anybody else's statue or memorial at the ground, including his father Bal Thackeray.

"When the Shiv Sena leaders can get land for constructing resorts, why can't they get a piece of land for a Thackeray memorial? If the party was really serious on it, they could have easily got some land for him in the past one year," Jaidev said sarcastically.

To a question, Jaidev said not only should Shivaji Park be kept free of any memorial, even the Mahalaxmi Race Course should be left untouched.

Mumbai is already short of open public spaces and whatever is left should not be disturbed. "There is no need for any memorial or statue of Thackeray at Shivaji Park - he lives in the hearts of the people," Jaidev asserted.

Hinting at plans to enter politics, Jaidev said he would launch a campaign to unite Maharashtrians soon before taking further steps.

Shivaji Park, where Thackeray was cremated last year in a public funeral, is regarded as the 'cradle of Indian cricket' where many top Indian cricketers, including Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar, cut their teeth in the game.

Cricket temple dedicated to Sachin, Dhoni, Yuvraj in Bihar soon

Cricket is a religion in India and affirming this is the fact that a temple dedicated to Indian top three cricket players -- Sachin Tendulkar , Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yovraj Singh, is being constructed in a village in Bihar.

This cricket temple -- a first of its kind -- will provide an opportunity for fans of cricket's Gods -- Sachin, Dhoni and Yuvraj -- to offer prayers and worship them if they like it.

The construction of the temple is a brainchild of Bhojpuri actor-cum-singer Manoj Tiwari, who is an avid cricket fan.

"I have decided to construct a temple dedicated to cricket players like Sachin, Dhoni and Yuvraj, Tiwari told rediff.com.

Tiwari also added that the cricket temple will be constructed in his ancestral village, Atarwaliya, in Kaimur district.

"After the Indian cricket team won the World Cup earlier this year, I made up my mind to build a temple dedicated to cricket players," Tiwari said.

He informed that the temple will be designed by a Mumbai-based renowned architect.

"White marble life-sized statues of Sachin, Dhoni and Yuvraj in cricket uniform, with bats in hands, will be installed as deities of the cricket temple," he said.

He said that special sculptors from Jaipur were hired to make the idols.

According to him, four acres of land was acquired for the cricket temple in his village.

"A huge bat and ball would be constructed atop the temple to make the structure visible from distance," Tiwari said.

Man accused in Phoolan Devi's murder case, dies in Tihar

New Delhi: A 35-year-old man, accused in Samajwadi Party MP Phoolan Devi's murder case and lodged in high security Tihar jail, died here on Wednesday following a heart attack, officials said.

"Pradeep, who was lodged in jail for past six year in connection of Phoolan Devi murder case, suffered heart stroke in the morning," Sunil Gupta, Tihar Jail spokesperson said.

He was rushed to the Deen Dayal Upadhyay hospital, but he died mid way.

"The matter is being enquired into by a Judicial Magistrate. Further action would be taken after the report," Gupta said.

Legalising betting like 'enjoying rape': CBI chief Ranjit Sinha regrets statement after backlash

CBI Director Ranjit Sinha today expressed regret for his comments comparing the legalizing of betting in sports to 'enjoying rape', after a huge public backlash.

"I regret any hurt caused as same was unintended and inadvertent. I reiterate my deep sense of regard and respect for women and commitment to gender issues," Mr Sinha said today, stopping short of an apology in his third clarification since the controversy erupted yesterday.

India's top investigator was at a panel discussion in Delhi on Tuesday evening, trying to argue that if the state could not stop betting it should at least legalise it and earn revenue, when he drew the bizarre analogy, "If you can't prevent rape, you enjoy it." (watch CBI's chief's comment)

He tried to explain later that he "just used a proverb to make a point," but his use of the word 'proverb' for the distasteful comment did nothing to stop the deluge of outrage on social forums.

The CBI issued a clarification late last night and Mr Sinha tried to defend himself again today, saying, "I gave my opinion that betting should be legalized and laws cannot be enforced. That does not mean that laws should not be made. This is as erroneous as saying that rape is inevitable and one should lie back and enjoy it."

The CBI chief's epic blunder inflamed the social media and enraged many at a time the nation's rape debate - triggered by the fatal gang-rape of a medical student in a moving bus in Delhi last December - has been dominated by calls for sweeping changes not just in laws but in mindsets.

"The CBI director has rendered himself unfit to hold this office. Such an irresponsible and insensitive comment is simply inexcusable," tweeted Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.

"Unbelievable!" tweeted noted Bangladesh writer Taslima Nasreen.

CPI-M leader Brinda Karat said the CBI director should be prosecuted. "If the CBI director who is in charge of several rape investigations can trivialize it, it gives a very wrong message. He has no right to continue in office," Ms Karat said.

Tea set worth Rs. 1.5 crore owned by this BJP leader

Shivpuri:  Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashodhara Raje Scindia owns a dinner set worth more than Rs. 1.5 crore.

That's listed by the parliamentarian in her disclosure of assets that she has filed along with her nomination papers for the Madhya Pradesh elections.

The state votes on the 25th of this month.

Ms Scinda, who belongs to the former royal family of Gwalior, is currently a Member of Parliament but is now running for the state legislature from the constituency of Shivpuri.

Nitish Kumar an arrogant Chief Minister, says Narendra Modi in Chhattisgarh

Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh:  Narendra Modi today unpacked a litany of accusations against his political rival, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who he described as arrogant.

At an election rally in Chhattisgarh, which votes for its next government this month, Mr Modi configured an image of Mr Kumar as an uncaring chief minister "whose body language suggested happiness" after last month's serial blasts in Patna which preceded a massive rally held by the BJP leader.

Mr Modi, who is the BJP's candidate for Prime Minister, was not harmed in those explosions.  Six people were killed and 83 injured; the BJP has attributed the terror attack to the "gross criminal negligence" of Mr Kumar and his government. 

In June, Mr Kumar pulled the trigger on a 17-year alliance with the BJP over its decision to give Mr Modi the starring role in its campaign for the national election. After the Gujarat riots of 2002 in which more than 1,000 people were killed, Mr kumar distanced himself from Mr Modi, describing him as a polarizing leader.

In Chhattisgarh, the BJP and chief minister Raman Singh are seeking a third consecutive term in power. Mr Modi used a Naxal attack in the state in May in which several Senior Congress leaders were killed to compare and contrast the Chhattisgarh chief minister's performance to that of Mr Kumar's.

"Dr Raman Singh met the victims, instituted an investigation to look into the shortcomings of the government."  He added, "When the Bihar Chief Minister was questioned on the blasts, his arrogance was evident. See how an empathetic Chief Minister behaves and how an arrogant Chief Minister behaves."

Body of one of four missing ad execs found in river near Pune

Pune:  The body of one of four young advertising executives, who had been missing since Friday, has been found in a river near Pune.

The police said 28-year-old Chintan Buch's parents had identified his body.

The police believe that the car which the four co-workers were traveling in fell into the Neera River, 40 kms from Pune on the highway to Bangalore. Divers are searching the river today.

The three men in the silver Hyundai i-20 were headed to a holiday in Goa. En route, they were going to drop their female colleague to her family home in Kolhapur.

Their families reported them missing after their cellphones were unreachable.

The group was last seen on security cameras on Saturday morning as their car passed through a toll plaza near Pune.

The three people who have yet to be found are Pranav Lele, Sahil Qureshi and Shrutika Chandvani.

Rahul Gandhi responds to 'heckler' at a rally of Sarpanches in Jammu

Jammu:  Rahul Gandhi today faced a heckler as he addressed a gathering of village leaders in Jammu and Kashmir.

At a rally of Panches and Sarpanches - or village heads - the Congress vice president was speaking about the empowerment of local leaders, when he was interrupted.

"We are with you. But we demand that the state government gives us rights. We have been hearing about getting powers for the last three years, since we were elected, but we haven't got anything, all this is fraud. No one listens to us," a Sarpanch from the crowd shouted at Mr Gandhi.

The Congress leader paused in the middle of his speech to respond to the heckler. He said, "I have come here to listen to you. Why would I have come here if I did not want to listen to you? You have to fight. You have to put pressure on the state government. We are with you."

Omar Abdullah's National Conference rules the state along with the Congress.

The man who interrupted Mr Gandhi was Parikshit Singh, Sarpanch of Ramnagar. He later explained his action, "Many of our Sarpanches were killed by militants. No Sarpanch was given security but an MLA has been given the security of 50 guards. They did not let our voice reach Rahul Gandhi."

The Panches and Sarpanches were elected three years ago in historic Panchayat elections held after a gap of more than three decades in the state lacerated by militancy.

But since that milestone for grassroots democracy in Jammu and Kashmir, these leaders have been struggling for their rights, demanding more powers for local governance, while facing constant threats from militants.

Rahul Gandhi said to these leaders today, "Your future is most important to me. I will keep coming here and continue to fight for your rights till you get your dues."

Modi has enough security, Rajiv Gandhi didn't get even a sub-inspector: government

New Delhi:  The government and the main opposition party, the BJP, feuded openly today about whether security for Narendra Modi, who is running for Prime Minister, should be upgraded.

"I want to tell the NDA (the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance) that Rajiv Gandhi wasn't given the security of even a sub-inspector when they were in power. Maybe that's why he lost his life," said RPN  Singh, junior Home Minister.

The BJP-backed National Front government was in power when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991.

A glut of bomb blasts targeted a rally held by Mr Modi in Patna last month. Six people were killed and 83 injured in the explosions which ended before Mr Modi arrived at a large public park in the heart of the city to address tens of thousands of supporters.

Mr Modi is guarded by the Gujarat police and the National Security Guard, whose commandos are offered to chief ministers seen as high-risk targets like J Jayalalithaa.

After the Patna blasts, the BJP said that Mr Modi should be guarded by the elite Special Protection Group which handles the security of the Prime Minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her children.

Today, Mr Modi's party said it did not want to get into the specifics of what sort of protection should be offered to the 64-year-old prime ministerial candidate, but said the onus is on the Centre to work out the details.

"Our Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi must be given full security. He is a prime terrorist target and the government knows this - still they are not doing anything," said BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar.

After Mr Modi was declared the BJP's choice for prime minister in September, central intelligence agencies warned that different groups were prepping to target him, and therefore any state visited by him for election rallies or other meetings should be on high alert and ensure that the leader is given maximum security.

After the bomb blasts in Patna, the Centre decided that when he travels, his security arrangements will be closely coordinated between central intelligence agencies, the Gujarat Police and National Security Guard commandos who escort him, and the government of the state that is hosting him. This Advanced Security Liaison or ASL is similar to how the PM's security is handled.

Chinese businesswoman sentenced to death for cheating investors

BEIJING: A Chinese businesswoman was sentenced to death on November 5 for cheating investors of an "extraordinarily large" amount of $200 million, the second such case this year in the country.

The Inner Mongolia autonomous regional higher people's court in north China upheld the verdict of the Erdos intermediate people's court that sentenced 42-year-old Su Yenyu to death in January this year.

Su's personal wealth has been confiscated. She was accused of cheating investors of 1.23 billion yuan ($200 million) using high returns as bait, personally misappropriating 552 million yuan, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

"The amount of the fraud was extraordinarily large and caused significant damage to both the country and the people. In such cases the death penalty is mandatory," the high court said.

Su began her "illegal" fundraising in 2006, using the funds to invest in restaurants, health clubs, coal mines and farms, even buying lottery tickets worth 20 million yuan.

She burned all documents relating to her business between 2006 to October 2009.

She surrendered to police on September 20, 2011. Ren Wenxiang, a man who supported Su's endeavours, was sentenced to five years for fraud and fined five lakh yuan.

In May, a businesswoman in southeastern China was sentenced to death on charges of stealing $100 million from investors.

Erdos, an emerging city surrounded by vast grasslands, has made a fortune from large reserves of coal and natural gas in the past decade.

Nirupama Rao bids farewell to her diplomatic career

Washington: Nirupama Rao, Indian envoy to the US, bid farewell to her career of diplomacy, as members of the American diplomatic core and her counterparts from countries like China and Brazil gathered at a reception hosted in her honour by the State Department here.

"It is difficult to imagine that so much time has passed," Rao told a select audience gathered at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the US State Department, which hosted a rare farewell reception for the Indian diplomat on the last day of her assignment last night.

Rao, 62, in the four-decade of being a diplomat served as India's Foreign Secretary, External Affairs Ministry's spokesperson and envoy to important countries like China and Sri Lanka.

"I leave with a great sense of optimism and hope and satisfaction that I have been able not only to learn so much but also to help build partnerships and forge relationship between India and a number of countries around the world," said Rao.

US Secretary of State John Kerry sent a special message to Rao which was read on the occasion.

He appreciated Rao's role in strengthening the important partnership between India and the US. "I wish you all the best in the day, months and years to come," Kerry said in the message.

"An honour to be hosted to farewell @StateDept today. Touched by Secretary Kerry's message and presence of so many friends and colleagues," Rao tweeted after the reception. Rao is one of the few diplomats who has over 190,000 followers on the microblogging site.

At the reception, she was described as "tireless champion" of Indo-US Strategic Partnership and that during her two-year tenure, the bilateral relationship has reached new heights.

She was accompanied by her husband and former Chief Secretary of Karnataka Sudhakar Rao.

Last week, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns hosted a luncheon for her at the State Department.

The Indian-American community and the US India Business Council also hosted receptions for her last week.

Rao also hosted a farewell reception at her residence last week, which was attended by top American diplomats and members of the Indian-American community.

Among those attended the reception were US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha Biswal and her predecessor Robert Blake; and US the Under Secretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy.

Rao will be succeeded by S Jaishankar, currently India's Ambassador to China.

Three Indians jailed in Dubai for bribery

Dubai: A Dubai court has jailed three Indian barbers for a year each for offering 1500 dirhams (around $400) to a Dubai Municipality health inspector to get a health card illegally.

The Indian trio, identified by their initials as IM, AK and MS, were said to have offered a municipality inspector the bribe in June to get a health card for AK, who was suffering from hepatitis B, the Gulf News reported.

The Dubai Court of First Instance Sunday found them guilty of offering a bribe despite the defendants pleading not guilty.

The prosecutors told the court that IM tried to convince the inspector at Dubai Municipality’s clinic that AK was healthy.

The court also fined the defendants 600 dirhams each.

The three Indians were charged after they were caught in a sting operation while giving the bribe.

“IM asked me over the phone if I could help him issue a health card to a person who suffers from hepatitis B. I refused and told him that it was unlawful to process a health card for a barber who suffers from a contagious disease,” the health inspector said.

 “The next day he came to my workplace and asked why I was hesitant to help him. The supervisor said earlier health cards had been issued to individuals with contagious diseases,” he said.

“I promised I would reconsider… then I told my boss. She suggested that I pretend to have agreed in order to expose the staff members who processed the health cards to unhealthy individuals,” the inspector added.

The Indian nationals will be deported after they complete their sentences.

Two farmers commit suicide due to rain damaging their crops

    Two farmers ended their lives in Karimnagar district on Monday, the police said here today.

    Unable to bear the damage due to recent rains, to his paddy crop which he had cultivated after borrowing money from private financiers, Sudhakar Reddy (47) consumed insecticide in his farm on Sunday.

    He was immediately shifted to the hospital at Manthani division headquarters, where he died while undergoing treatment, today.

    In a similar case, a cotton farmer, Bandari Odelu (20) of Uppal village in Kamalapur mandal, ended his life by consuming insecticide on Monday.

    The police has registered cases and investigation is on, the police said.

Indian dupes some 500 Hajj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia

Jeddah, Nov 4 (PTI) An Indian national in Saudi Arabia has allegedly duped some 500 pilgrims of nearly USD 400,000 through a fake Hajj campaign here, prompting authorities to launch a manhunt for him.

    The victims of the fake scheme are all expatriates.They were informed by the Indian in mid-September that they will have tents in Mina and receive free food and transportation. However, after collecting over 1.5 million Saudi Riyal, the man disappeared and switched his mobile off.Victims were assured by the Saudi authorities that the man who cheated them is still in the Kingdom and cannot flee the country, Saudi Gazette reported.

    Jeddah police said the man cannot leave Saudi Arabia because he has a documented case
.
    The police said they have contacted the Indian Embassy to inform them about the man. They said the man was hiding somewhere between Makkah and Jeddah."We are expatriates and are not aware of the legal procedures here," said Mohammed Shariff, one of the victims.

Lata Mangeshkar wants Narendra Modi to become Prime Minister

Noted singer Lata Mangeshkar on Friday backed Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as a prime ministerial candidate saying she wished to see the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader in the top office.

The remark was made by the legendary singer at the inauguration ceremony of a hospital in Pune. The hospital has been named after Deenanath Mangeshkar, father of Lata Mangeshkar.

Following the statement by Lata, the BJP PM candidate addressed the gathering saying he was honoured to be invited for the event by the Mangeshkar family.

Lata's sister Asha Bhosle was also on the stage.

I am being projected as dracula, Asaram Bapu claims in court

New Delhi:  Self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, currently lodged in a jail in Gujarat, has once again lost a petition seeking to restrain the media from reporting on sexual assault allegations against him.

The 75-year-old had moved the court to stop two TV channels from airing allegedly slanderous reports about him saying they were projecting him as a "dracula who drank children's blood."

Rejecting his plea, a bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam said it cannot ask the media not to report the information they get from police or other sources.

"If some inmate says something or an investigation officer talks to the media, how can we stop them? Media is reporting what they say. We can't stop media.  You have other remedies," Justice Sathasivam told Asaram's counsel.

Asaram moved the court against the two channels after the Supreme Court on October 21 declined to restrain both print and visual media from carrying news reports about his case.

The spiritual guru was arrested in August this year on charges of sexually assaulting a teenage girl at his ashram in Jodhpur in Rajasthan.  Later, two sisters who stayed at his ashrams in Gujarat accused him and his son, Narayan Sai, of rape. Asaram has denied all charges against him.

Ghosal's dream run ends in World Squash Championship

Manchester: Saurav Ghosal's dream run in the World Squash Championship came to an end when he suffered a straight-game defeat against defending champion and world number one Ramy Ashour from Egypt in the quarter-finals, here.

Ghosal, who made history by becoming the first Indian ever to reach the world championship last-eight stage, put up a brave fight before running out of steam against the top seed from Cairo, losing 9-11 5-11 9-11 in a 48-minute contest at Manchester Central late on Thursday night.

It was Ashour's fourth successive quarter-final berth in the championship, which he won last year and in 2008. Ghosal, who went into the match without a win against the Egyptian in the last four meetings, made an impressive start as he led 8-4 and 9-6 in the first game.

But the 26-year-old, later described by Ghosal as "the most original squash player I have ever seen", came up with a series of scintillating shots to recover from the deficit and take the game.