Monday, August 15 2005 18:03 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Amidst gunning down of an MLA in Andhra Pradesh and two deafening explosions in Kashmir valley, the nation today (Aug 15, 2005) celebrated the 59th Independence Day under a thick security blanket with leaders unveiling welfare packages for masses.

In the restive North-East where insurgents called for boycott of the celebrations, the national event passed off peacefully as the leadership asked rebels to shun violence and join the national mainstream.

A 12-year-old boy, son of a businessman, was abducted in Bihar's Purnea district while on way to school to attend the I-day function. Police liquidated four kidnappers but the boy was still traceless.

Unfurling the tricolor in the national capital amidst heightened security in the wake of likelihood of terror strikes, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh extended a fresh invitation to anyone interested in a dialogue in Jammu and Kashmir.

As IAF (Indian Air Force) choppers patrolled the skies and sharpshooters kept a hawk-eye vigil, Singh, in his second Independence Day speech from ramparts of the Red Fort, made it clear to Pakistan to "totally dismantle" the entire infrastructure of terrorism on its soil.

Naxalites killed a ruling Congress MLA and seven others in Andhra Pradesh's Mehboobnagar district marring the I-Day celebrations.

Narsi Reddy, representing Maktal constituency, was on way to inaugurate a school building in connection with an Independence Day function when the naxals struck killing him and seven others.

In Jammu and Kashmir, an Improvised Explosive Device went off outside the high-security Bakshi stadium in Srinagar, an hour before commencement of the official I-Day function there.

Another deafening blast shook a stadium at Pattan in Baramulla district. However, there were no casualties in both the explosions.

In rest of the country, the celebrations were peaceful with hoisting of tricolors, launching of welfare schemes and rededication to national ideals marking the day.