Probe Agency Files Chargesheet Against Naresh Goyal In Alleged Bank Fraud

The Enforcement Directorate, or ED, filed a chargesheet against Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal and five others on Tuesday in the alleged fraud of Rs 538 crore at the Canara Bank.

Naresh Goyal was arrested by the ED on September 1 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He is currently in judicial custody and lodged at the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai.

The chargesheet against Goyal and others was filed in a court, which is likely to take cognisance of it tomorrow, a lawyer linked to the case said.

The money laundering case stems from the FIR of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Jet Airways, Naresh Goyal, his wife Anita, and some former company executives of the now-grounded private airline in connection with the alleged fraud.

The FIR was registered on the bank's complaint, which alleged that it sanctioned credit limits and loans to Jet Airways (India) Ltd to the tune of Rs 848.86 crore, of which Rs 538.62 crore was outstanding.

Earlier, during his remand hearing, the investigation agency had said that the Jet Airways founder siphoned off money from India to abroad by creating various trusts in foreign countries.

The investigation revealed that the accused has created various Trusts abroad and through those trusts, he purchased various immovable properties. The money for those trusts is nothing but the proceeds of crime (POC) siphoned off from India to abroad, it had said.

The ED said that their investigation further revealed that Goyal had purchased high-value properties in Mumbai and subsequently sold them. He also formed a web of companies in India through which he acquired a lot of immovable properties.

Citing an audit report, the ED has claimed that the loans availed by Jet Airways (India) Limited (JIL) were used for purchasing immovable assets such as furniture, apparel, and jewellery.

The salaries of the Goyals' residential staff and operational expenses of a production company of his daughter were also paid from the accounts of JIL.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Man Found Dead In Noida Flat With Injury Marks On Neck

A 57-year-old man was found dead inside his flat here on Monday with the police suspecting it to be a case of murder.

Police received a phone call at around 9 a.m. from the nephew of the deceased -- Shashi Sharma -- alerting them about the body.

There were injury marks on his neck and it appeared to be a case of murder, police said.

"Dharmendra Sharma informed the police that his uncle Shashi Sharma's body is lying in a room of his (uncle's) house in Janta Flats, sector 40 and that the body has injury marks on its neck,” a police spokesperson said.

The official said an FIR was being lodged in the case at the local Sector 39 police station and an investigation has been launched.

Upon receiving the information, a field unit of personnel went to inspect the incident and further legal proceedings in the case are underway, the police added. 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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"Need Of Hour To Ensure Maratha Quota Demand Fulfilled": Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday alleged the inaction by the Maharashtra and Central governments on the Maratha quota issue has led to unrest in the community.

Speaking at a function, Mr Pawar said the demand of Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange should be accepted without hurting the interests of other communities.

The NCP chief said he had met Mr Jarange when he had observed a fast last month and understood the demands raised by him.

Maharashtra and Central governments didn't take immediate decision on the Maratha quota issue which triggered unrest in the community, he alleged.

"As a party too, our stand is clear. Jarange's demand should be met without hurting the interests of other communities. The need of the hour is to ensure that the quota demand is fulfilled in a proper way," Mr Pawar said.

Maratha community has been staging protests seeking reservation in the government jobs and education under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

The agitation intensified after quota activist Manoj Jarange sat on an indefinite fast from October 25 as part of the second phase of the protest. On his appeal, many villages have banned the entry of political leaders. Jarange has announced that fast-unto-death protests will begin in villages across Maharashtra from Sunday if the state government fails to act on the pending demand of the Maratha community.

The Maharashtra government's stated position is that it is committed to granting the reservation to the Maratha community which stands legal scrutiny.

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Delhi's Air Quality Deteriorated To 'Very Poor' Category

Delhi's air quality deteriorated to the "very poor" category on Saturday and is predicted to worsen further due to unfavourable meteorological conditions, according to weather monitoring agencies.

The city's 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 304, worsening from 261 (poor category) on Friday, according to the Central Pollution Control Board.

It was 256 on Thursday, 243 on Wednesday and 220 on Tuesday.

The AQI was 291 in neighbouring Ghaziabad, 272 in Faridabad, 252 in Gurugram, 284 in Noida and 346 in Greater Noida.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'.

According to the Centre's Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, the city's air quality deteriorated to the 'very poor' category due to slow wind speed at night and a dip in temperatures.

The air quality is expected to remain very poor till the end of the month, it said.

Earlier in the day, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai said the number of stubble-burning incidents recorded in neighbouring states so far is fewer than last year and the overall contribution of farm fires to the city's air pollution is expected to reduce.

However, he cautioned that air pollution may increase in the coming days due to unfavourable meteorological conditions.

Only around 2,500 stubble-burning incidents have been recorded so far, compared to 5,000 such cases during the same period last year, he told reporters here.

According to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Punjab, which accounts for the maximum number of cases of stubble burning every year, reported 49,922 farm fires in 2022, compared to 71,304 the previous year and 83,002 in 2020.

The agrarian state logged 50,738 incidents of stubble burning in 2019, 59,684 in 2018, 67,079 in 2017, and 1,02,379 in 2016.

Haryana recorded 3,661 farm fires in 2022, down from 6,987 in 2021 and 4,202 in 2020.

The neighbouring state witnessed 6,364 incidents of stubble burning in 2019, 9,225 in 2018, 13,085 in 2017, and 15,686 in 2016.

Unfavourable meteorological conditions and a cocktail of emissions from firecrackers and paddy straw burning, in addition to local sources of pollution, push Delhi-NCR's air quality to hazardous levels during winter.

According to an analysis conducted by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, the capital experienced peak pollution from November 1 to November 15 when stubble-burning incidents in Punjab and Haryana peak.

While Delhi is facing a sharp decline in air quality in the coming days, crucial data that helped the government prepare a strategy to mitigate the air pollution problem is missing.

The Ministry of Earth Sciences' System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research, which provided data about the contribution of smoke from farm fires to Delhi's air pollution, has not been providing updates, and associated officials are unaware of the reason.

"We are not aware of why updates on the SAFAR portal have stopped," said an official at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, which operates the website.

Similarly, data from the Decision Support System, a numerical model-based framework capable of identifying sources of particulate matter pollution in Delhi, isn't accessible to the general public anymore.

Recently, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai alleged the city government's study to determine pollution sources in the national capital has been halted "unilaterally and arbitrarily" on the orders of DPCC Chairman Ashwani Kumar.

The Delhi government had last month launched a 15-point action plan to mitigate air pollution in the capital during the winter season, with a strong emphasis on addressing dust pollution, vehicular emissions, and the open burning of garbage.

Special drives to check dust, vehicular and industrial pollution are already underway in the city.

In keeping with the practice of the last three years, Delhi had last month announced a comprehensive ban on the manufacture, storage, sale and use of firecrackers within the city.

A public awareness campaign, 'Patakhe Nahi Diye Jalao,' will soon be reintroduced to discourage firecracker burning.

The government has also prepared a pollution mitigation plan for each of the 13 identified pollution hotspots -- Narela, Bawana, Mundka, Wazirpur, Rohini, R K Puram, Okhla, Jahangirpuri, Anand Vihar, Punjabi Bagh, Mayapuri, Dwarka.

Rai recently said the government has identified eight more pollution hotspots in addition to the existing 13 in the national capital and special teams will be deployed there to check pollution sources.

He said the government has also decided to use suppressant powder to prevent dust pollution in the city.

Dust suppressants could include chemical agents like calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, lignosulfonates and various polymers. These chemicals work by attracting and binding fine dust particles together, making them too heavy to become airborne. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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In Mizoram Manifesto, BJP Promises 33% Quota For Women In Jobs

BJP president JP Nadda on Friday released his party's manifesto for the assembly elections in Mizoram, making a host of promises, including a 33 per cent reservation for women in government jobs and investigation into a social welfare scheme of the MNF government.

In the 70-page 'Vision Document', the BJP went big on promises aimed at attracting the women voters, who play a significant role in Mizoram's society.

Speaking at the function after releasing the manifesto, Mr Nadda said the BJP is committed to making it the document of reality.

"Many political parties come out with their vision document, their mission document, their manifesto, but we find them to be a mere piece of paper because even they are not very sure whether they are going to pursue that vision or mission or commitment. But, when BJP brings out a 'vision document', it is well-researched," he said.

Noting the key points in the document, Mr Nadda said that if voted to power, the BJP will invest Rs 1,000 crore to revamp the agricultural infrastructure of the state.

It will also introduce 33 per cent reservation for women in government jobs, and establish 'Mizoram Hmeichhiate Battalion' -- the state's first all-women police battalion, he said.

"We would introduce the Queen Ropuiliani Women Empowerment Scheme whereby every girl child will be offered a cumulative financial assistance to the tune of Rs 1.5 lakh," he added.

It will also launch 'Operation Drug-Free Mizoram' to curb drug addiction among youths of the state, if voted to power.

Mr Nadda said the BJP will establish a special investigation team to probe the "irregularities and corruption" in the implementation of the Socio-Economic Development Programme, the flagship scheme of the Zoramthanga-led Mizo National Front (MNF) government.

He said the BJP is also committed to resolving the long-standing border dispute between Mizoram and Assam.

The BJP also promised a budget of Rs 250 crore to revamp the government schools, and Rs 350 crore to build new government colleges and revamp the existing ones.

It promised 'Mizoram Olympic Mission' to make it a leading state for sportspersons. Among the initiatives will be a sports academy and fully-funded scholarships for aspiring sportspersons in different disciplines.

Mr Nadda also announced that the coverage under the Ayushman Bharat scheme will be increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakhs, and the Zoram Medical College (ZMC) will be upgraded to Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS).

The annual financial assistance of Rs 6,000 under the PM-Kisan scheme for farmers would be increased to Rs 8,000, he said.

The BJP will also allocate Rs 3,000 crore to upgrade and modernise all roads over the five years, if voted to power, he added.

Mr Nadda said the BJP will revamp state tourism with a corpus of Rs 250 crore.

He said the Northeast region experienced a significant change after the NDA came to power at the Centre.

Polling for the 40-member Mizoram assembly will be held on November 7, and the counting of votes will take place on December 3.

The BJP, which contested 39 seats in the last assembly polls in 2018, is now contesting 23 seats. It has one MLA in the current assembly.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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8 Navy Veterans Sentenced To Death In Qatar: They Commanded Warships

Eight former Indian Navy officers, who have been sentenced to death in Qatar, have been accused of spying for Israel. The eight men were working for a private firm that helped the Qatari armed forces and included decorated officers who once commanded Indian warships.

In August 2022, the retired officers were arrested on charges of spying and were accused of espionage and state-sponsored terrorism. According to reports, the eight men were spying for Qatar on a secret naval project.

The convicted men are Captain Navtej Singh Gill, Captain Birendra Kumar Verma, Captain Saurabh Vasisht, Commander Amit Nagpal, Commander Purnendu Tiwari, Commander Sugunakar Pakala, Commander Sanjeev Gupta and Sailor Ragesh Gopakumar. They worked for a private firm, Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services, which provided training and other services for Qatar's armed forces.

In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said it was shocked by the verdict and would take up the issue with Qatari authorities. 

Award-Winning Commander

The men, who were arrested in Doha last year, have been accused of spying on Qatar's advanced submarines for Israel. These submarines were coated with special materials that enhanced their stealth capabilities, something that would be valuable for any navy in the world. 

According to reports, the submarines were being built in collaboration with an Italian shipbuilding firm.

In 2019, Commander Purnendu Tiwari was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians. In a post at the time, the Indian Embassy in Doha had said the award was given to Commander Tiwari for enhancing India's image abroad. 

"The award is in recognition of his contribution towards capacity building for the Qatar Emiri Naval Forces, thereby promoting India-Qatar bilateral cooperation. He is the first Indian Armed Forces personnel to be awarded this highest honour meant for NRIs / PIOs," the embassy had said. 

Commander Tiwari was the Managing Director of Dahra Global Technologies and Consultancy Services and had commanded several warships when he was part of the Indian Navy.

'Exploring All Options'

Bail petitions of the eight men had been rejected several times and the verdict against them was pronounced on Thursday by the Court of First Instance in Qatar.

Reacting to the verdict, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement, "We are deeply shocked by the verdict of death penalty and are awaiting the detailed judgement. We are in touch with the family members and the legal team, and we are exploring all legal options."

"We attach high importance to this case, and have been following it closely. We will continue to extend all consular and legal assistance. We will also take up the verdict with Qatari authorities," it added.

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Man Dies Due To Suspected Food Poisoning After Eating "Shawarma": Cops

A 22-year-old man, who had been under treatment for suspected food poisoning after eating "shawarma", died in Kochi on Wednesday, the police said.

Shawarma is a popular street food in the Middle East that has many takers in the southern states.

The dead man was identified as Rahul, a resident of Teekoy in Kottayam district.

According to his family, he developed uneasiness after consuming "shawarma", which he ordered online from a hotel here on October 18.

After undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Kakkanad near Kochi since Sunday, he breathed his last today.

Thrikkakara police said they registered a case against the hotel in Mavelipuram on Monday based on the complaint of the man's family, and the municipality authorities closed down the hotel the next day.

"We can ascertain whether shawarma was the reason for the alleged food poisoning only after receiving the postmortem report," a police officer said.

Further action would be taken after the medical report is received, the officer added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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PM's Scheme For Street Vendors Strengthened Social Fabric: Report

As one of the largest micro-credit urban programmes worldwide, PM SVANidhi has been an effective vector of ensuring societal harmonisation among unformalised segments of urban micro-entrepreneurs from fringe strata and dismantling select community blockades, a report said.

The government launched Prime Minister Street Vendor's Atma Nirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme on June 1, 2020, to facilitate collateral-free working capital loans of up to Rs 50,000 to street vendors to restart their businesses, which were adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As per the report by SBI Research, 43 per cent of women beneficiaries in the scheme indicates empowerment of entrepreneurial capabilities of urban female.

The ratio of people repaying the first loan of Rs 10,000 and taking the second loan of Rs 20,000 is 68 per cent, while the ratio of people repaying the second loan of Rs 20,000 and taking the third loan of Rs 50,000 is 75 per cent, it said.

According to the report, the average debit card spending of PM SVANidhi account holders increased by 50 per cent post-disbursement of loan instalments.

There is a 61 per cent probability of a loan recipient who was earlier not spending starts to spend actively post disbursement of the PM SVANidhi loan, it noted.

On average, 63 per cent of those below the 25 and above 60 age groups spend more post disbursement of loan, and the share of active spenders in those having received the second and third loan instalments is as much as 30 per cent, it said.

PM SVANidhi is impacting the behavioural habits in terms of spending and digital transactions post receipt of loan instalments for a nearly identical class of marginalised population like PMJDY depositors, the report added.

Spending avenues of PMJDY Accounts are majorly towards basics, while PMJDY with SVANidhi account holders are found to be spending more on consumeristic avenues.

A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that the number of beneficiaries who have been either new to credit/deposit in the last nine years is around 30 per cent on average (of the new credit accounts added during this decade), contributing around 8 per cent of incremental credit growth, it said.

In deposits, around 42 per cent of the new account opened is only due to PMJDY and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), as per the report.

"If we look to the incremental GDP growth during FY14-23, then the formalisation through new government schemes (Deposits + Credit) stands at 6 per cent. We believe there is a revolution at the bottom of the pyramid and this is likely to sustain the credit growth," it said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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2 Dead In Jharkhand As Truck On Way To Durga Immersion Falls On People

Two persons were killed and four others suffered injuries on Tuesday when a truck fell on the people who were in a procession for immersion of the idol of goddess Durga in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur city on Tuesday evening, Health Minister Banna Gupta said.

The incident occurred at Bodhanwala ghat under Bistupur police station when the truck was negotiating a slope.

Two persons died in Tata Main Hospital where four other injured are under treatment, the health minister said in a statement issued after visiting the healthcare facility.

The condition of two of the injured is stated to be serious.

All the victims were members of the Kitadih Puja Committee in Bagbera area here, police said adding that they were in the immersion procession.

Gupta asked East Singhbhum District Civil Surgeon Dr Jujhar Majhi and the hospital authorities to ensure proper treatment of the injured.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren condoled the death of the two persons during the immersion of the idols.

“May God grant peace to the departed souls and give strength to the bereaved family members to bear this grief. The district administration is providing medical aid to the injured people. I wish speedy recovery to all the injured.” The district administration appealed to the devotees to take care of their safety on a priority basis during the immersion.

A huge crowd thronged the roads of Steel City here to witness immersion processions taken out by over 200 community Durga puja committees.

Immersion of idols is underway in different ghats amid tight security. While divers were engaged in ghats as a precautionary measure, the police are using drones to keep a vigil on miscreants. 

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Case Against Man For Duping People On Pretext Of Providing Jobs In Army

Police and Military Intelligence have jointly uncovered a fake recruitment scam that allegedly duped 150 people of Rs one crore promising them jobs in the Indian armed forces.

Police have registered an FIR against 40-year-old Sivaraj Vatagal, a resident of Hubballi, who is a deserter of the Indian Army, and his accomplice Beemmava in connection with the case at Srirampura Police Station in Chitradurga.

Items such as fake identity cards and army recruitment-related documents were recovered from them, the Defence wing of the Press Information Bureau said in a release on Monday.

"A Joint Operation was carried out by the Military Intelligence, Bengaluru and Srirampura police team of Chitradurga district to arrest the fraudster and his accomplice in Chitradurga on October 20, for allegedly defrauding 150 youths of Rs 1 Crore, under the pretext of recruiting them and providing them job into (sic) the Indian Army, Air Force and Navy, in different districts of Karnataka like Chitradurga, Davangere and Haveri districts," it said.

Prakash (31) of Davangere district had filed a complaint against Sivaraj Vatagal.

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CBI Names Nimbus Group, Its Directors In Rs 75 Crore Bank Fraud Case

Nimbus Communications Ltd and its three Directors - Harish K Thawani, Shoba Harish Thawani and Akash Chandra Khurana - have been named in a chargesheet by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly defrauding Indian Overseas Bank of over Rs 75 crore.

Nimbus Communications operated two Sports Channels - Neo Prime and Neo Sports in India.

In 2006, Nimbus Communications Ltd won the broadcasting rights for Cricket matches from BCCI for four years.

The company had also won the broadcasting rights for Asia Cup held in 2014.

In its complaint to the CBI, Indian Overseas Bank has alleged that "Nimbus Communications Ltd was enjoying various credit facilities, like term Loan of Rs 125 crore sanctioned in 2011. The term loan was restructured in March 2012 with a limit of 100 crore and thereafter on 30.12.2012, SBLC (Stand By Letter of Credit) facility to the tune of US $ 6507000 was extended in favour of Asia -Cricket Council of India".

The bank has further alleged that Nimbus Communications failed to repay the loan amount and rather "dishonestly and fraudulently diverted the said amount to clear its loan liability with India Infoline".

The account of Nimbus Communications was declared a Non-Performing Asset (NPA) in 2012 and as fraud in 2019.

Based on the report of forensic audit of Nimbus accounts, the bank has alleged that the Promoters and Directors of the company misappropriated funds and diverted public funds for personal use causing a loss of Rs 76 crore to the bank.

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Separated By Partition, 2 Cousins From India, Pak Reunite After 76 Years

Two cousins, separated during the Partition 76 years ago, were reunited at the landmark Kartarpur Corridor, in an emotional meeting made possible through social media, a Pakistani official said on Monday.

Mohammad Ismaeel and his cousin Surinder Kaur, both in their 80s, reached Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Kartarpur from their respective cities in Pakistan and India and had an emotional reunion on Sunday.

An official of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) told PTI that the administration of Karatarpur Sahib facilitated the reunion of the cousins and offered sweets and langar to them.

Another family reunion, at Darbar Sahib Kartarpur Corridor.
Mr. Muhammad Ismael from Sahiwal, Pakistan
Surinder Kaur from Jalandhar, India#KartarpurSahib #Pakistan #IndoPakRelations #PMU #TDCP #PTC #Official #Corridor #CEO #Sikhs #gurdawara #meetup pic.twitter.com/jOWIdg1liG

— PMU Kartarpur Official (@PmuKartarpur) October 21, 2023

Mohammad Ismaeel belongs to the Sahiwal district of Punjab, some 200 km from Lahore, and Surinder Kaur is from Jalandhar.

The families of Mohammad Ismaeel and Surinder Kaur were living in Shahkot town of Jalandhar district before the partition when the riots separated them.

A Pakistani Punjabi YouTube channel posted the story of Mohammad Ismaeel, following which one Sardar Mission Singh from Australia contacted him and informed him about his missing family members in India.

Singh gave Mohammad Ismaeel the telephone number of Surinder Kaur after which both cousins spoke and decided to meet at Gurdwara Darbar Sahib via Kartarpur Corridor.

Emotional scenes were witnessed during their reunion.

Surinder Kaur and his family members from India also performed religious rituals.

The Kartarpur Corridor links Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan's Punjab province, the final resting place of Sikhism founder Guru Nanak Dev, with the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Gurdaspur district in India's Punjab state. Indian Sikh pilgrims can access the 4 km-long corridor and visit the Darbar Sahib without visas. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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"Committed To Issuing Reservation To Maratha Community": Devendra Fadnavis

The Maharashtra government is committed to granting reservation to the Maratha community but will have to ensure that the allocation stands the legal and constitutional scrutiny, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Monday. Fadnavis' assurance comes on the eve of the expiry of an ultimatum given by activist Manoj Jarange to the government for declaring a quota for Marathas under the OBC category.

The senior BJP leader also said a hurried decision on granting a quota in education and government jobs may be struck down by the Supreme Court.

"Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has stressed that the government wants to give the reservation to the Maratha community which will pass the legal and constitutional tests. Suppose a decision to award reservation in education and government jobs is taken hurriedly, in that case, the court will strike it down, and the state will face the criticism of cheating the community," Fadnavis told reporters in Nagpur.

When asked about the demand of the Maratha Kranti Morcha for restructuring the state Backward Classes Commission, he said CM Shinde will definitely take a decision on this front.

If some vacancies are to be filled, we will do it, he added.

"In the past, our government had given the reservation (to Marathas) that was upheld by the Bombay High Court. Maharashtra was the only state after Tamil Nadu where the HC had upheld the reservation granted by the state," Fadnavis said.

The former chief minister said the Supreme Court never issued a stay order on the reservation given to the Maratha community when the BJP-led government was in power in Maharashtra (from 2014 to 2019).

"But I do not want to indulge in politics over what happened later (when Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA was at the helm from November 2019 to June 2022). Our government is committed to issuing the reservation to the Maratha community. We will get it done," Fadnavis added.

A day earlier, Manoj Jarange had said he would launch a fast-unto-death protest from October 25 if the government fails to grant quota to the Maratha community by Tuesday.

Jarange also said the Maratha community would not let political leaders, including MPs and MLAs, enter villages across the state until the reservation demand is met.

The Maratha quota issue took centre stage in Maharashtra politics after some people supporting Jarange during his hunger strike protest in September were allegedly lathi-charged by police at Antarwali Sarati village in Jalna district. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Probe Agency Files First Chargesheet In Mahadev Betting App Case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed its first chargesheet in connection with its money laundering investigation into the Mahadev betting app case that surfaced in Chhattisgarh recently, sources said.

The prosecution complaint was filed by the federal probe agency before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Raipur on Friday, official sources said.

The ED has named 14 persons in the prosecution complaint, including alleged main promoters of the Mahadev Book app Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal besides Vikas Chhapariya, Chandrabhushan Verma, Satish Chandrakar, Anil Dammani, Sunil Dammani, Vishal Ahuja, Dheeraj Ahuja, Srijan Associates through Punaram Verma, Shiv Kumar Verma, Punaram Verma Shiv Kumar Verma, Yashoda Verma, Pawan Nathani, they said.

Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal had denied any wrongdoing.

The operative part of the chargesheet runs into 197 pages, while the annexures add about 8,800 more pages.

The projected proceeds of the alleged crime in this case is about Rs 6,000 crore, according to the sources.

The court is expected to take the cognisance of the chargesheet on the next hearing scheduled for November 25, they said.

The ED had earlier said its investigation has revealed Mahadev Book is run from a central head office in the UAE.

It operates by franchising "panel/branches" to their known associates on 70-30 per cent profit ratio, it had said.

"Large scale hawala operations are done to siphon off the proceeds of betting to off-shore accounts. Large transactions in cash are also being done in India for advertising betting websites and self-aggrandisement necessary to attract new users and franchise (panel) seekers," the agency said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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BJP's Poll Body Meets To Decide Candidates For Upcoming Assembly Polls

The BJP's Central Election Committee met on Friday to finalise its candidates for the coming assembly polls amid indications that the party's top brass may field Union ministers in Rajasthan as it did in Madhya Pradesh.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda among other CEC members brainstormed following hectic meetings the national leadership had with state leaders from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Telangana in the last couple of days to address regional concerns and narrow down the list of probables.

Sources said this could be the last meeting of the BJP's CEC, which has already met three times until now.

The BJP is yet to name any candidate for the 119-member Telangana assembly elections slated for November 30.

It has declared 41 candidates, including seven MPs, for the November 25 elections to the 200-member Rajasthan assembly and 136 for the November 17 elections to the 230-member Madhya Pradesh assembly.

 There is a view that some Union ministers, including Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, may be fielded in the Rajasthan polls.

  Its Madhya Pradesh candidates include three Union ministers and four other MPs. It has declared most of its nominees for Chhattisgarh and Mizoram assembly polls. PTI KR RT

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Delhi Records Minimum Temperature Of 16.1 Degrees Celsius

Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 31.1 degrees Celsius on Friday, a notch below the season's average, according to the India Meteorological Department.

The national capital's minimum temperature settled at 16.1 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season's average, the IMD said.

The relative humidity oscillated between 89 per cent and 45 per cent.

The IMD has predicted mainly clear skies for Saturday. The maximum and minimum temperatures in the city are likely to settle at 32 and 16 degrees Celsius, respectively.

Delhi's Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 190 around 7 pm, according to Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data.

An AQI between 0 and 50 is considered 'good', 51 and 100 'satisfactory', 101 and 200 'moderate', 201 and 300 'poor', 301 and 400 'very poor', and 401 and 500 'severe'. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Several BJP, AAP Leaders, Tribal Party Workers Join Congress In Gujarat

Several leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party and the ruling BJP in Gujarat joined the Congress on Thursday in the presence of the opposition party's general secretary in charge of the state Mukul Wasnik.

Some of the key leaders who joined the Congress at its 'Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan' headquarters in Ahmedabad were Ishwar Patel, former MLA of Dharampur seat of Valsad, and Arif Ansari, who is former chairman of Gujarat AAP's minority cell.

Ishwar Patel won from Dharampur seat in 2012 as a Congress MLA. He had joined BJP some time back.

Surat-based lawyer Arif Ansari said he had resigned from AAP nearly four months back after he was removed from the minority cell and made chairman of sports cell.

Other leaders who joined Congress included former BJP president of Kodinar taluka Pravinsinh Zala, former BJP president of Santrampur town Sunil Bhoi, organisation secretary of BJP's state women wing Miraben Panchal and former AAP president of Narmada district Dharmendrasinh Gohil, said a Congress release.

Several Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) functionaries also joined the Congress during the day, it added.

On the occasion, Mukul Wasnik said the BJP's "anti-people" policies were hurting citizens of the country, resulting in the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.

Welcoming the new entrants, Mukul Wasnik said the Congress under Rahul Gandhi was on a mission to unite the country, adding that all must come together to save the nation.

Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil said his party always believed in taking everyone along.

The entry of these leaders and workers will further strengthen the party in Gujarat, said the Congress release.

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"Bar And Bench Worked Together For Equality For Citizens": Justice Siddharth Mridul

The bar and the bench are the two wheels of administration of justice and have always worked together to secure liberty, equality and justice for the people of this country, Manipur High Court's chief justice designate Justice Siddharth Mridul said on Wednesday.

Justice Mridul, who has been a judge of the Delhi High Court for more than 15 years, was speaking at the full court reference organised by the high court to bid farewell to him following his appointment as the chief justice of the Manipur High Court.

"I candidly admit that I would not have achieved (what I have) without each one of you holding my hand and raising my spirits through difficult times... "The bar and the bench are the two wheels of the administration of justice which have always worked together in Delhi to secure for the people of this country liberty, equality and justice - social, economic and political," Justice Mridul, who became emotional during his address, said.

He was appointed as additional judge of the Delhi High Court on March 13, 2008 and became a permanent judge on May 26, 2009.

During his address, he made a request to the senior members of the bar to adopt young lawyers and impart necessary skills of advocacy to them and support them with the resources they need to earn a dignified living.

Justice Mridul also advised young lawyers to remember the famous words of scientist Albert Einstein that "you never fail until you stop trying".

"My personal belief is that the objective all of us seek to attain is to ensure the welfare and wellbeing of the lowest social and economic denominator. In other words, the upliftment of the weakest section of the society," he said.

He said he would miss Delhi, the beautiful city, and all the courts here where he has practised as a lawyer.

"I reiterate what I said in the glorious and unforgettable farewell given to me by the Bar today. "Meharban hokar bulalo mujhe chahe jis waqt, main gaya waqt nahi hoon ke fir aa bhi na sakoon (Be kind and call me any time you want, I am not the time gone by that I cannot come back again)," Justice Mridul, known for his penchant for 'Shayari', said.

Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma congratulated Justice Mridul on his elevation and said the citizens of Manipur will greatly benefit from his presence.

"Certainly the blessings will ensure that your tenure in Manipur is a successful one... I am experiencing mixed emotions today. Delhi's loss is Manipur's gain. The citizens of Manipur will be greatly benefitted with your presence, ensuring their confidence in the due process of law," the chief justice said. PTI SKV ADS SKV SK

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"Manipur Mobile Internet To Be Restored In 4-5 Days": Chief Minister

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh today said mobile internet services will be restored in the state within "four to five days."

"I understand people's hardships because of the mobile internet ban. The government was forced to impose it because some elements always tried to take advantage of the situation and create trouble. However, I want to assure you that services will be restored in the next four to five days," Mr Singh said at a programme at the mini secretariat in Ukhrul district after a cabinet meeting.

He also laid the foundation stones of several projects and inaugurated a number of schemes worth Rs 64.38 crore in the Naga-dominated Ukhrul and Kamjong districts.

Highlighting population growth in the district capital and related land issues, Mr Singh proposed developing a new Ukhrul township near Sirarakhong village.

In the spirit of our shared history and common origins, I'm honoured to present tokens of appreciation to our village chiefs and elders.

Let us strengthen the fraternal bonds between the indigenous communities that have coexisted in Manipur since time immemorial. pic.twitter.com/M6qyW0TRsU

— N.Biren Singh (@NBirenSingh) October 18, 2023

"I want to say that the government is keen on developing Ukhrul as per the wishes of the people," he said. "Ukhrul is an important town after Imphal, but water scarcity is a major problem. To resolve it, Rs 6 crore has been sanctioned for water supply in the town," the Chief Minister said, adding there is also a plan to build a dam at a cost of Rs 180 crore to Rs 200 crore.

Mr Singh thanked civil society leaders and village chiefs for their unwavering support in the anti-drugs campaign in the state.

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Court Orders Woman To Pay Rs 25,000 Over Rape Charge U-Turn After 6 Years

The Bombay High Court imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on a woman, who six years ago accused a man of raping her and forcing her to abort twice, only to clarify later that it was a consensual relationship and there was no coercion.

A division bench of Justices Anuja Prabhudessai and NR Borkar in its September 20 order, made available on Tuesday, noted that the woman said before the High Court that she terminated her pregnancies of her own will.

The accused in the case went to the High Court seeking to quash the FIR in the case.

"The complainant has filed her affidavit stating that the relationship with petitioner (the accused) was consensual and that she had taken a conscious decision to abort the pregnancies since she was not legally married. She claims that she is already married to another person and has a child and is living a peaceful family life. She has accorded her consent to quash the FIR and all consequent proceedings," the court noted in the order.

The judges directed that the FIR be quashed accordingly, but also asked the woman to pay Rs 25,000, by way of cost, to the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai within two weeks.

In 2017, the woman alleged that the petitioner raped her and his family members compelled her to terminate the pregnancies twice.

Even if the allegations in the FIR were accepted in their entirety, the physical relationship between the parties was consensual, the court observed.

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AAP To Make Electoral Debut In Northeast By Contesting Mizoram Polls

Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party has decided to make electoral debut in the northeast by contesting in the Mizoram assembly polls. Rajesh Sharma, AAP's northeast in-charge, told reporters in Delhi today that the decision to expand the organisation and contest elections in the northeastern states was made on Sunday at a meeting with Mr Kejriwal. A coordination committee and a northeast cell will be formed for organisational expansion.

"AAP will also participate in the upcoming Mizoram assembly elections. The details of the number of seats contested and the constituencies will be provided by the state committee, and an announcement regarding it will be made soon," Mr Sharma said.

People in the northeast are grappling with various issues, including education, healthcare, inflation, and unemployment, and they believe that AAP can provide solutions to these problems, he said.

The northeast faces a multitude of issues, including rampant corruption and nepotism. The Chief Ministers in these states often treat the state as their family estate, and government contracts are typically awarded to their family members and friends, he said.  

Government schools, hospitals, and roads are in poor condition and inflation is on the rise. Unemployment is a significant problem. Addressing these issues has become crucial, he added.

After witnessing the party's track record in Delhi and Punjab, the people of the northeast believe that only AAP can accomplish these tasks, Mr Sharma said. So they want AAP to expand its organisation and participate in elections in all the northeastern states.  

In states like Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Manipur, where the BJP is in power, they have initiated divisive politics in a forceful manner, he said, "by dividing communities and stoking tensions, including conflicts like the Kuki-Meitei dispute".

"This has left the people of the northeast quite distressed because they never support this kind of politics. That's why the AAP is determined to expand its organisation with full force in the northeastern states," he added.

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Madhya Pradesh Elections 2023: 5 Points About Congress Veteran Kamal Nath

1. Kamal Nath, a nine-time Member of Parliament, will once again contest from the Chhindwara Assembly. Born on November 18, 1946, to Mahendra Nath and mother Leela Nath in Kanpur, Kamal Nath, is Congress' chief ministerial face, where they last had a full-term government from 1998 to 2003.
2. A commerce graduate from St. Xavier's College in Kolkata, Mr Nath has been in active politics for over four decades, having contested and won his first election way back in 1980.
3. The veteran leader has served in various positions within the Congress party. Between 2004 and 2014 when Congress was in power at the Centre, Kamal Nath served as the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry until 2009. From 2009 to 2011, he was the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, and then from 2011 to 2014, he served as Union Minister for Urban Development as well as Parliamentary Affairs.
4. In 2011, Kamal Nath was declared the richest cabinet minister in India with declared assets worth Rs 263 crore.
5. In 1980, Indira Gandhi personally came for his nomination filing from Chhindwara and famously declared "he is my third son". 
    

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Haryana Chief Minister Lays Foundation Stone Of Domestic Airport At Ambala

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday laid the foundation stone of a domestic airport in Ambala Cantonment, saying it will not only improve connectivity but also spur economic activity.

The civil enclave -- a military airbase area allotted for civil aviation use -- was sanctioned under the UDAN scheme. The airport -- touted as the dream project of Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij, a six-time MLA from Ambala Cantonment -- will be established on 20 acres, alongside the Air Force Station.

The "bhoomi pujan" and foundation stone laying ceremony was done in the presence of Mr Vij, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, and Rajya Sabha MP Kartikiye Sharma.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Khattar said the airport will further increase Haryana's connectivity with other states and also spur economic activity.

It can also act as a support facility for the Chandigarh airport, he said.

"When an airport comes up, it spurs economic activity and development," the chief minister said.

The airport, once completed, will also use the already-existing runway of the Ambala Cantonment Airport Station for the landing of commercial aircraft.

Officials said the Union Ministry of Defence has agreed to allow the use of the Air Force airstrip for civil aviation. The ministry also allotted about 20 acres of its land to build the civil enclave, with the Haryana government paying Rs 133 crore.

The Public Works Department of the Haryana government has issued a tender worth Rs 16 crore for the construction of a terminal building.

It has separately approved Rs 25 crore for other works at the airport.

Mr Chautala said a passenger terminal, which can cater to at least 200 people at a time, will come up within six months.

The Haryana government has applied for permission to start flights from Ambala to destinations, including Srinagar, Varanasi, Jaipur, Amritsar and Delhi, under the UDAN scheme.

Mr Vij said once the airport becomes operational, it will also cater to people from western Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

The BJP-led government in the state has done a lot of work in Ambala Cantonment and Ambala has made great progress, Mr Vij said.

About the airport project, he said a lot of effort was made to ensure its realisation as it required permission from the Army, Air Force, defence ministry and other departments.

It is a matter of great joy for the people of Ambala that the foundation stone of a very ambitious project has been laid. Every single person in Ambala must thank Khattar for the efforts he made to realise the airport project, the minister said.

It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream that the common man should be able to afford and undertake flight travel and that is why the UDAN scheme was launched, Vij said.

He added that India's prestige has risen globally under Modi's leadership.

Mr Vij also lauded Mr Chautala and said he facilitated all permissions that were required.

When an airport comes up, it does not benefit a city alone but the entire region gets a boost, Mr Vij said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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"If Want To Live In India, Have To Say Bharat Mata Ki Jai": Union Minister

Union Minister Kailash Choudhary on Saturday asserted that those who want to live in India should say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'.

Mr Choudhary, MoS (Agriculture), was speaking at a farmers' convention organised by the BJP.

Referring to the "language used" by public representatives in Hyderabad, he said a "lesson should be taught" to them in the time to come and that a government with nationalistic thinking should be formed in the state.

Those who say in India that they will not chant 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', to hell with them, he said. "Bharat me rehna hai, tho 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' bolna hoga (If you want to live in India, you have to say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'), he insisted.

"Living in India, would you say 'Pakistan Zindabad'," he asked.

Only those who say 'Vande Mataram' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' have a place in the country, he went on.

"That's why I would like to say, if there is any such person who does not say 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' and does not have faith in Hindustan and Bharat and keeps faith in 'Pakistan Zindabad', he should go to Pakistan. There is no need here," he said.

It is "necessary" for the country to have a nationalist ideology in the region, he said, adding that the country should be strengthened with collective efforts.

The farmers' convention was organised by the BJP on the occasion of the union cabinet recently approving the terms of reference of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal that will govern the division of the river water between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Referring to the opposition alliance naming itself INDIA, Mr Choudhary alleged that "Congress people" first "stole the name" of Mahatma Gandhi, which was preceded by them taking the name of "Congress" which was originally formed to achieve freedom for the country.

"They have given the name INDIA. But, this work of stealing names, (they are) not doing from today. If they have done the work of stealing name first, Congress people first stole the name of Mahatma Gandhi ji. Today, it is Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi. By stealing Gandhi, they want to become like Gandhiji. In the same way, they want to take the name of India also," he claimed.

The Congress was formed to attain Independence for the country from British rule and Mahatma Gandhi had said that the Congress would come to an end forever after the freedom movement, he said.

"First, they stole the name of Congress, then the name of Gandhi and today INDIA," he said.

The name INDIA was taken to "hide" the "evil deeds" done during the UPA government but it cannot be hidden as "their" history would vociferously talk about their corruption, he claimed.

He praised the approval of the terms of reference of the Krishna tribunal saying that nothing is more important than water to farmers.

Stating that PM Narendra Modi always gives utmost importance to farmers, Mr Choudhary highlighted the Centre's pro-farmer measures, including the hike in agri budget compared to the previous UPA regime, the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, provision of nano urea fertiliser and agri infrastructure fund.

Asserting that the fruits of development are reaching common people and that rapid progress is witnessed in highways, infrastructure and other sectors in the country under the Modi regime, he said a nationalistic government should be formed in Telangana.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Probe Agency's Custody Of Chinese National In Money-Laundering Case Upheld

The Delhi High Court has refused to interfere with a trial court order sending Chinese national Guangwen alias Andrew Kuang to three-day Enforcement Directorate custody in a money laundering case against Chinese smartphone maker Vivo.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, in an order released on Saturday, dismissed a petition by Kuang -- an office bearer of Vivo Mobile India -- challenging the trial court order of remand, noting that as per the grounds of arrest and the remand application, the petitioner, "one of the main conspirators", was involved in the incorporation of the companies throughout the country for acquiring and siphoning off proceeds of crime.

"Ultimately, the investigating officer had concluded (in grounds of arrest) that the present petitioner was the prime conspirator of the formation of these companies through which acquisition of proceeds of crime had taken place and which, after layering and integration, had been siphoned off by Vivo India," the court observed in an order dated October 13.

"This court does not find any infirmity in the order of remand dated 10.10.2023 challenged before this Court as the same takes into account the mandate of compliance of provisions of Section 19 of PMLA as well as Section 45 of PMLA. Accordingly, the present petition stands dismissed along with pending application," ordered the court.

On Friday, the trial court extended the custody of the petitioner with ED by three days in the case.

The petitioner, apprehended on October 10, had argued before the high court that his arrest was carried out in a malafide manner and against the mandate of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and no case was made out against him.

Rejecting the objections, the court observed that the remand application specifically mentioned that on the basis of the investigation carried out so far and material collected, the present petitioner was "guilty" of the offence of money laundering and therefore written grounds of arrest were also given to him.

On October 10, the trial court sent four people, including the petitioner, to three-day ED custody in the case.

The agency had raided the company and its linked people in July last year, claiming to have busted a major money laundering racket involving Chinese nationals and multiple Indian companies.

The ED had then alleged that a whopping Rs 62,476 crore was "illegally" transferred by Vivo to China in order to avoid payment of taxes in India.

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No Central Team Allowed To Survey Land For SYL Canal: Punjab Minister

No central team will be allowed to survey land for the SYL canal in Punjab, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said on Saturday.

Harpal Cheema, who met reporters after a Cabinet meeting, was asked if the Punjab government had received any intimation about a likely central team visit to conduct a survey.

"We have not received any information in this regard yet," the AAP leader said and added that if any central team arrives in the state, the Punjab government will strongly oppose the visit and not allow a survey.

Mr Cheema's response follows Shiromani Akali Dal leader Prem Singh Chandumajra claiming on Friday that central survey teams would arrive in Punjab on November 1.

"We have learnt that central survey teams are expected to come to Punjab on November 1," Chandumajra had said.

The Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal was conceptualised for effective allocation of water from the Ravi and the Beas rivers. The project envisages a 214-kilometre canal, of which a 122-kilometre stretch is to be constructed in Punjab and the remaining 92 kilometres in Haryana.

Haryana has completed the project in its territory but Punjab, which launched the work in 1982, shelved it subsequently.

Opposition leaders have been attacking the Bhagwant Mann government over the issue, accusing it of failing to safeguard Punjab's interest.

The Supreme Court on October 4 asked the Centre to survey the portion of land in Punjab which was allocated for the construction of the SYL canal in the state and make an estimate of the extent of construction carried out.

The Congress, BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal have held protests over the past few days on the issue.

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UP Minister Affixes "Servant" To His Name On X After Akhilesh Yadav's Dig

Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on Friday affixed "servant" to his name on X, formerly Twitter, apparently reacting to a dig taken at him by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

This came after Mr Yadav climbed the locked gate of the Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC) on Wednesday to garland a statue of the social leader on his birth anniversary.

Targeting the SP chief, Mr Pathak had said if he is so good at climbing, he should have participated in the Asian Games and won some more medals for the country. Reacting to Mr Pathak's comments, Mr Yadav reportedly asked if he should respond to the "servant deputy chief minister's" remarks.

Further, Mr Pathak said, "Of course, Akhilesh is a raja and I am a servant of people. He has nothing to do with the people... the only thing he does is make statements. He is from a family of kings, I am the servant of people." Later, the deputy chief minister affixed "servant" to his name on X.

In a video shared by the SP on its official X handle on Friday, Mr Yadav defended his remarks.

"Is he (Pathak) not a government servant? What wrong have I said? He should have told on whose orders the museum built in the name of Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan was locked," he said.

"No government in Uttar Pradesh has ever stopped anyone from participating in a programme related to any 'mahapurush'," the SP chief said.

He alleged the museum was locked, tin sheets put up, and police and other officials were deployed to prevent the SP from garlanding Narayan's statue

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Woman Declared Indian After 6 Years Following Name Mismatch In Voter List

A name mismatch in multiple voters' list had led to the declaration of a woman in Assam as an illegal immigrant from Bangladesh in 2017, only to be acknowledged as an Indian citizen based on circumstantial evidence six years later, officials said.

Dulubi Bibi, 50, a resident of Udharbond area in Cachar district, was declared a foreigner by the Foreigners' Tribunal-3 of Silchar on March 20, 2017 during hearing of a 1998 case under Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act (which was later re-registered under Foreigners Tribunals Act in 2015).

Tribunal member B K Talukdar had then observed in his order that Dulubi Bibi failed to prove that she and her father were born in India and resided in its territory prior to 1971, and as such the tribunal was of the opinion she migrated into India illegally.

It found that she was identified by different names in various voters' lists and there were mismatches in the names of her father and grandfather, too.

The tribunal also ordered the police to arrest Dulubi Bibi and keep her under detention.

She was later released from the detention centre on bail following a direction of the Supreme Court and in May this year, she challenged the 2017 Foreigners' Tribunal order in the Gauhati High Court.

The District Legal Service Authority (DLSA), Cachar provided her free legal support and appointed advocate Mahitosh Das as lawyer.

Das said the high court directed the tribunal to hear the case again.

"During the tribunal's hearings, Dulubi Bibi claimed she had adequate evidence to prove her connection with her grandfather, whose name appeared in multiple voters' lists before 1965," Das said.

She was declared Indian by the same tribunal member B K Talukdar, who had earlier declared her an illegal immigrant in 2017, he said.

Talukdar was convinced with the materials produced and arguments placed before him, and declared her as an Indian citizen, the lawyer said.

"... My considered opinion is the OP (Dulubi Bibi) is a citizen of India born out of Indian citizens living in Indian soil," Talukdar said in his order issued earlier this week and made available to her on Thursday.

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President of Mexican Senate Ties 'Rakhi' To PM Modi During P20 Summit

President of the Mexican Senate Ana Lilia Rivera tied a 'Rakhi' on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hand on the sidelines of the G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit (P20) on Friday.

Ana Lilia Rivera tied a 'Rakhi' to PM Modi, who in turn gave her his blessings, officials said.

Addressing the inaugural session of the ninth G20 Parliamentary Speakers' Summit (P20), Modi said terrorism anywhere in the world and in any form is against humanity and conflicts do not benefit anyone.

He also asserted that "this is time for peace and brotherhood" as a divided world cannot provide solutions to big global challenges.

The event is being attended by the Speakers of Parliaments of G20 members and invitee countries.

The thematic sessions during this P20 Summit will focus on four subjects of transformation in people's lives through public digital platforms, women-led development, accelerating SDGs and sustainable energy transition.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Punjab's 2-Day Assembly Session "Is Bound To Be Illegal": Governor Office

Days after the Bhagwant Mann government called a two-day sitting of the Punjab Assembly, the Governor's Secretariat has said this session -- being projected as an extension of the Budget session -- is "bound to be illegal" and any business conducted during it "unlawful".

However, notwithstanding the Governor's Secretariat's letter dated October 12 pointing to the alleged illegality involved, the Vidhan Sabha Secretariat on Friday announced the schedule of the session.

This is the second time this year that a row has erupted between the AAP government and the Raj Bhavan over the summoning of an assembly sitting and fresh developments are likely to escalate it further.

The Raj Bhavan reminded the assembly secretary on Thursday that a few months ago, the governor had termed a similar special sitting of the budget session in June "patently illegal".

Punjab officials had earlier said the October 20-21 session would be an extension of the fourth session -- the budget session in March.

The session is widely expected to discuss the recent Supreme Court directive on the construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal in Punjab, a project which the state is reluctant to complete, claiming that it has no water to spare for neighbouring Haryana.

According to the tentative schedule issued by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Secretariat on Friday, the sitting will begin with obituary references on October 20 at 11 am, followed by legislative business to be taken up at 12 pm. The House will take up legislative business on October 21.

In its letter to the Punjab Assembly's secretary, the Governor's Secretariat said, "I have been instructed to draw your attention to the Hon'ble Governor's letter dated July 24, 2023, which recorded Hon'ble Governor's objection to a similar extended session styled as the 'Special Session of the 4th (budget) of the 16th Punjab Vidhan Sabha', called on June 12, for June 19 and 20." "Based on legal advice and for reasons stated in the said letter, Hon'ble governor had pointed out that the calling of such a session was patently illegal, against the accepted procedures and the practice of the legislature, and against the provisions of the Constitution," it stated.

In the present case also, calling a "special session of the fourth budget session of the 16th Punjab Vidhan Sabha", suggesting that it is a continuance of the fourth session which was adjourned sine die on June 20, is "an attempt to extend the budget session which was summoned by the Hon'ble Governor for March 3, 2023, and which stood concluded on March 22 after the completion of the agenda for business of the said session", the letter said.

"In view of the reasons stated in the letter dated July 24, any such extended session is bound to be illegal, and any business conducted during such sessions is unlawful, and ab initio void (having no legal effect)", it added.

On Thursday, Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit told reporters in Amritsar that he was not asked about the two-day assembly session being called by the AAP government.

Officials argue that the session will be an extension of the budget session and there is no need to take the approval of the governor.

Since the fourth session has not been prorogued yet, approval of the governor to call a sitting of the assembly is not required and the assembly speaker is competent to convene it, official sources had said earlier.

The Mann-led Punjab government has locked horns with the Raj Bhavan on several issues in the past.

In July, Purohit said that once the business of the meeting is over and nothing remains to be transacted, the meeting cannot be artificially kept alive. His response had come after Mann urged him to sign the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, aimed at ensuring a free-to-air telecast of 'Gurbani' from the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

It was one of the four bills passed during the June 19-20 session. The bills are still lying with the governor for his approval.

On the SYL issue, the opposition parties have turned the heat on the AAP government, accusing it of weakening Punjab's stand in the Supreme Court by stating that the state government was "ready to build the canal but the opposition parties and farmers were not allowing it".

The top court had on October 4 asked the Centre to survey the portion of land in Punjab that was allocated for the construction of part of the SYL canal and make an estimate of the extent of construction carried out there.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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"Sharad Pawar Never Wanted To Resign," Says Supriya Sule

Responding to former Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal's allegation that Sharad Pawar's resignation as NCP president was "decided" in a party meeting, NCP working president Supriya Sule said that Sharad Pawar never wanted to tender his resignation.

Launching serious allegations against leaders of NCP, Supriya Sule claimed, "Pawar Saheb never wanted to tender his resignation. But he offered to resign after leaders from the party insisted on joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was hurt and he offered to resign", Ms Sule told reporters in Maharashtra's Pune.

"Everyone thought it was a drama, but for us, it was a reality. Later, party workers from the state urged Pawar Saheb to continue as the president, following which a committee was set up that was to decide who would become the next President but Bhujbal himself refused the idea of setting up the committee and urged Pawar Saheb to remain in the position", she added.

Supriya Sule further said that she chose to be on the path of "struggle".

"On one side, there was power (satta), on the other side, there was struggle. I chose to be on the path of struggle", she said.

Earlier this year, NCP's veteran leader Sharad Pawar announced his decision to step down as the president of the party after helming it for 24 years and stated that he will not contest any more elections.

Later, the party suffered a split as top leaders including Ajit Pawar along with eight other party leaders joined the ruling Eknath-Shinde-BJP alliance in the state.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar took oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister with eight other party legislators.

The move by Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar, which also saw eight other NCP MLAs joining the Shinde-Fadnavis government, came amid efforts by opposition parties to forge unity to take on the BJP in the next year's Lok Sabha polls.

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Haryana Bureaucrat Arrested On Corruption Charges, 2nd Case In A Week

Haryana's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested an IAS officer, Jaibir Singh, for allegedly demanding a bribe to sanction a transfer, an official spokesperson said on Thursday.

Jaibir Singh, who is posted as the managing director of the Haryana State Warehousing Corporation, is the second bureaucrat to be arrested in a corruption case in two days.

IAS officer Vijay Dahiya was arrested by the ACB in connection with a corruption case on Tuesday.

A complaint was received that Singh had demanded a bribe of Rs 3 lakh from the complainant for sanctioning a transfer. The ACB arrested Singh o n Wednesday after a middleman allegedly accepted the bribe on his behalf, an ACB spokesperson said.

The middleman, a private individual, was also arrested from Panchkula, he said.

A case has been registered against Singh, the private person and two others at Panchkula ACB police station, the spokesperson said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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"Sextortion" Racket Using Dating Apps Busted In Odisha, 4 Minors Detained

The Odisha Police on Wednesday arrested a person and detained four minor boys for their alleged involvement in a "sextortion" racket being operated through dating apps.

The police action came on the basis of written complaints filed by two persons from Bhubaneswar and Khurda.

"We have detained four minor boys and arrested an adult male for luring and cheating people through dating apps. They also extorted money from the victims by blackmailing," said Girija Shankar Chakrabarty, ACP (Zone-II), Bhubaneswar.

The gang members used to engage in friendly chats with people and invite them to a house in Bhubaneswar, where they allegedly shot obscene videos and threatened to circulate those on social media, police said.

They would rob their victims of valuables and transfer money from their bank accounts by blackmailing them, the officer said.

Further investigation is underway.

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S Jaishankar Meets Sri Lankan President, Holds Extensive Discussions

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday called on Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe in Colombo and held "extensive discussions" aimed at enhancing the relationship between the two neighbours.

The minister, who is here to attend the 23rd Council of Ministers Meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), met with President Wickremesinghe at the Presidential Secretariat.

"Called on President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe today evening in Colombo. Conveyed the warm greetings of PM @narendramodi. Discussed the progress in taking the India-Sri Lanka relationship forward across the many domains of our cooperation," Mr Jaishankar said in a post on platform X.

During their meeting, they engaged in "extensive discussions aimed at enhancing the relationship" between India and Sri Lanka, the President's office said.

Additionally, three new bilateral agreements were signed to foster greater cooperation between the two countries, it added.

The minister said India and Sri Lanka also launched a logo celebrating the 75 Years of "our diplomatic relationship today".

Sharing the picture of the logo on X, he said, it "captures our deep historical, cultural and people to people bonds".

India and Sri Lanka launched a logo celebrating the 75 Years of our diplomatic relationship today.

Captures our deep historical, cultural and people to people bonds. pic.twitter.com/a78c8Rfj8f

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) October 11, 2023

S Jaishankar arrived in Colombo on Monday evening to attend the IORA Council of Ministers meeting - the highest decision-making body of IORA, the largest and pre-eminent organisation in the Indian Ocean Region with 23 members and 10 dialogue partners.

At the meeting, India assumed the Vice Chair role of IORA for 2023-25 leading to chairing in 2025-27.

This was his second visit to Sri Lanka in 2023.

S Jaishankar last visited Colombo in January during which he held talks with Lanka's top leadership and discussed the entire gamut of close bilateral partnership and steps to strengthen it in all spheres.

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Crocodile Strays Into West Bengal Town In Dead Of Night, Rescued

A crocodile strayed into a town in West Bengal's Purba Bardhaman district in the dead of the night, triggering panic in the area, officials said on Tuesday.

The incident happened in Palpara of Kalna town. The crocodile entered the area around 1 a.m. from the nearby Bhagirathi river, they said.

The people of the area, panicked by the situation, spent a sleepless night with the crocodile going from one lane to the other.

"We haven't seen any such thing in our lives. We were awake the entire night," said Subhash Mondal, a local.

The crocodile was rescued by personnel of the Forest Department around 8 a.m., officials said, adding that it will be released into the river.

"It is suspected that the rise in the water level of the river may have led to this incident. It is also possible that the crocodile entered the locality while chasing prey," said divisional forest officer Nisha Goswami. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Artist Chintan Upadhyay Gets Life Imprisonment For Conspiring To Kill Wife

A sessions court here on Tuesday sentenced artist Chintan Upadhyay to "rigorous imprisonment for life" for conspiring to kill his estranged wife Hema Upadhyay. Rejecting the prosecution's demand for a death sentence, the court, in the judgment, noted that Chintan was an acclaimed international artist who did not have any criminal antecedents.

While seeking to "finish off all the problems relating to Hema once and for all, a thought might have taken the shape of determination to eliminate" her, said additional sessions judge, Dindoshi court, S Y Bhosale in his judgment.

On October 5, the court had held Upadhyay guilty of abetting and conspiring to kill his wife, who too was an artist.

On Tuesday, the sentence was passed.

Three co-accused, namely, tempo driver Vijay Rajbhar and helpers Pradeep Rajbhar and Shivkumar Rajbhar, found guilty of murdering Hema and her lawyer Haresh Bhambhani, were also sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for life.

The court order noted that the flat where Hema and Chintan were residing was jointly owned by them. In case of Hema's death, the property would have gone to Chintan.

While Chintan had filed a petition for divorce on the ground of cruelty which the family court granted, Hema challenged it before the High Court, and thus, Chintan was required to wait till the HC decided the matter, the sessions court said.

These two circumstances were sufficient to infer the motive to kill Hema, it said.

But the case was not "rarest of rare" (which warrants capital punishment), and hence it was awarding the punishable of life sentence, the court said.

The other three accused had no criminal antecedents and were young, the judge said, adding that Shivkumar had just completed 18 years of age when the crime was committed.

"Their financial condition appears to be very poor, and that appears to be the sole ground that they agreed to commit the present offence," the judge said.

Chintan Upadhyay had crossed 50 years of age and was well-off; he was also an internationally acclaimed artist, the court noted.

"He has no criminal antecedents. It appears that at particular point of time to finish off all the problems relating to Hema once and for all, a thought might have taken shape of determination to eliminate Hema," the court said.

This thought was the result of the particular period he was passing through, it added.

"Thus, there appears less possibility that they (the four convicted accused) would commit any offence in future. In other words, the possibility of reformation of these accused is high," it said.

The court held though "the act of the accused was brutal, the case cannot be termed as a rarest of rare case which warrants death penalty."

Hema Upadhyay and advocate Bhambhani were killed on December 11, 2015, and the bodies were stuffed into cardboard boxes and thrown into a ditch in suburban Kandivali.

Vidyadhar Rajbhar, who is accused to executing the murders, is yet to be arrested.

Chintan Upadhyay was arrested soon after the murders for allegedly conspiring to eliminate his wife.

He spent nearly six years in jail before being granted bail by the Supreme Court in September 2021.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Police Case Against Publisher Over Prophet Mohammed "Photo" In Textbook

An FIR was registered against a publisher for allegedly depicting a "photo" of Prophet Mohammed in a textbook of Class four, police said on Monday.

The textbook was distributed at a private school under the limits of Kalapathar police station, and the depiction of the Prophet in it sparked protests from some people on Sunday night, they said.

Subsequently, a complaint was lodged with the police over the publishing of the "picture", alleging that the act hurt the sentiments of Muslims. According to the Islamic faith, visual representations of the Prophet are not permitted in order to prevent the worship of idols.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered under 153 A (promoting enmity between different religious groups), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and other relevant IPC sections against the publisher and also the management of the school, a senior police official said.

Majlis Bachao Tahreek (MBT), a political party in Telangana, also condemned the publishing of the imaginary photo and claimed that it has been done intentionally to hurt the religious sentiments of Muslim community.

MBT leader Amjed Ullah Khan wrote to the Telangana Education Minister and demanded that necessary action be taken against the printer, publisher, school management and others responsible for the visual representation of the Prophet in the textbook.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Rajasthan To Witness 50,000 Weddings On Day Of Voting

Polling day in Rajasthan coincides with Dev Uthani Ekadashi, an auspicious occasion when more than 50,000 weddings are likely to take place in the state, and the people involved in the business claim that this could hurt the voting percentage. Dev Uthani Ekadashi will be observed on November 23, when voting for the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly will also be held.

Dev Uthani Ekadashi is the most preferred occasion for weddings. It also marks the beginning of the wedding season.

Trade stakeholders believe that this could affect the voter turnout in the desert state, where the election department has set a target of 75 per cent voter turnout at all the 51,756 polling booths.

The voter turnout in the 2018 Rajasthan Assembly polls was 74.71 per cent.

The Election Commission (EC) announced on Monday that voting for all 200 Assembly seats in Rajasthan will take place on November 23 and the counting of votes will be taken up on December 3.

"Dev Uthani Ekadashi is the most auspicious occasion for weddings and all Hindu castes prefer to hold weddings on this day. More than 50,000 weddings are expected to take place this year on Dev Uthani Ekadashi," Ravi Jindal, president of the All India Tent Decorators' Welfare Association, told PTI.

He said the voting could be affected due to the involvement of a large number of people in the wedding ceremonies, from traders to family members and relatives.

Mr Jindal said nearly four lakh traders, including tent dealers and event managers, are engaged in the wedding industry in Rajasthan and around 10 lakh people are directly or indirectly involved in it, including catering service providers, florists, band parties, choreographers etc.

He said many "baraat" or wedding parties travel to different districts or states for wedding-related functions and the labourers also move from place to place, depending on their work.

"In such a situation, a few lakh people will be directly or indirectly busy on the day of polling. Many may not be able to cast their votes due to being engaged in work or not being present at their polling booths on the day of voting," Mr Jindal said.

Event manager Manish Kumar said, "On Dev Uthani Ekadashi, people go to other cities and districts as part of wedding parties. Similarly, caterers, electricians, florists, band parties and all others engaged in wedding-related work remain busy throughout the day and many of them may skip voting due to this." He said the wedding venues are already booked and full-scale wedding ceremonies will be held on November 23.

Former state BJP chief Satish Poonia, however, said the situation would not have much of an impact on polling and expressed confidence that the party workers would succeed in bringing the voters to the polling booths.

He said elections are a festival of democracy and there is great enthusiasm among the workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"Voting will be on the day of Dev Uthani Ekadashi, but I do not think that it would have much of an impact because our workers are committed and would ensure that each vote is counted," Mr Poonia said.

He said there is a large number of migrant Rajasthanis who are expected to come home for the wedding ceremonies and this would balance the situation in a way as they too would exercise their franchise.

The election department has made concentrated efforts to increase the voter turnout in the Assembly election.

The chief electoral officer has set a target of ensuring a 75-per cent voter turnout at all the 51,756 polling booths across the state.

A few new booths have been set up for a small number of voters in order to encourage people to vote.

More than 5.27 crore voters, including 2.75 crore male and 2.51 crore female voters, are eligible to exercise their franchise in this election, according to the final voter list.

About 22 lakh voters aged between 18 and 19 years will cast their votes for the first time. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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UP Man Arrested For Sexually Assaulting 17-Year-Old Schoolgirl

A 40-year-old man was arrested for allegedly molesting a schoolgirl in UP on Sunday.

The alleged incident happened in Bhadohi district and the survivor was a 17-year-old class 12 student. The accused has been arrested.

Police spokesperson Gagan Raj Singh said that the girl had gone to relieve herself out in the open when Sujit Gautam came and stood in front of her and made obscene gestures.

When the girl raised an alarm, Sujit tried to rape and strangle her but made a hasty escape when locals rushed to the spot, Mr Singh said.

Gautam was booked under sections 354 A (sexual harassment) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC and sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, said police.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Visva Bharti Writes To President Over Road At Santiniketan Campus

Visva-Bharati authorities on Sunday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu, seeking her intervention for returning of a road lined by heritage buildings on the central university's campus from the West Bengal government.

In a letter to the President, Visva-Bharati Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty sought her support for the return of the road on its campus in Santiniketan which was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site last month.

According to the Archeological Survey of India, if vehicles carrying heavy materials are allowed to ply, the roadside buildings, which are more than one hundred years old, will be damaged by the vibration of the movement of these vehicles, Chakrabarty claimed.

The three-km road, connecting Post Office More with Santiniketan, was taken over by the Public Works Department of the state government from the university in 2020 “to facilitate better connectivity”.

The varsity has been demanding the return of the road to protect the heritage structures lined along it.

The letter was written to the President, who is also the Visitor of the central university, days after Visva Bharati authorities urged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to consider its request for the return of the road to the institution.

"We have made earnest requests to our chief minister to return the road to Visva Bharati by sending letters to her on September 25 and 30, 2023, although there is no reply," Chakrabarty claimed.

With the take-over of the road passing through the Asram by the PWD department, it has "become a source of nuisance", he said.

E-rickshaws parked on both sides of the road make the movement of tourists very difficult, and vendors set up their temporary shops on the road which is adjacent to the Asram, the VC claimed.

"The place thus becomes noisy, crowded, unmanageable on most of the days when our museums are kept open for the tourists and the crisscrossing of vehicles (tractors etc.) on this road was a source of alarm since not only does it harm the buildings in Asram because of the resultant vibration harming the structures inside Asram but also causes panic to the tourists because some of the drivers are not sensitive to rules and regulations of road safety," Chakrabarty said in the letter.

Many earn their livelihood by driving e-rickshaws and also selling souvenirs to the tourists, the VC said, adding that there are rooms just before the beginning of the Asram area and e-rickshaw drivers and the local sellers used to operate from that location when the road was kept under Visva-Bharati's supervision.

"Visva-Bharati shall take ample care in sustaining the system that worked well so long as this road was managed by its staff. The purpose is to carry on with everybody because the Heritage declaration shall bring more tourists to the campus and it is our prime duty to protect these old buildings and Asram's pristine environment," the VC said.

He also urged the President to "kindly intervene to support" the varsity's endeavour to take back the road, which will enable it to "devise plans in consultation with conservationists for its perfect maintenance".

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Congress MLA Touches BJP Veteran's Feet At Indore Event

Amid a barrage of acerbic remarks exchanged between the ruling BJP and opposition Congress ahead of the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Sunday saw a moment of rare bonhomie between two potential rivals.

Congress MLA Sanjay Shukla, who represents the Indore 1 constituency and will in all likelihood be fielded by his party from there, touched the feet of senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya, whose name has already been announced for the same seat.

A video of Shukla's act of respect for the BJP general secretary soon became a subject of like, share, repost and forward on social media.

The video shows Shukla, who was in the audience, standing up to say that Vijayvargiya was an honourable figure for him and then goes on to touch his feet.

The two leaders were attending a collective forgiveness function of the Jain community at Gommatgiri crossing in Indore.

Vijayvargiya reciprocated the gesture by hugging Shukla, demonstrating the rare gesture of bonhomie between the probable rival candidates.

During the mass forgiveness function of the Jain community, people apologise to each other for the mistakes committed knowingly or unknowingly. This event has religious significance in the Jain community.

The Congress and BJP have upped the ante against each other by resorting to non-stop wranglings ahead of the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls due by the year-end.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have repeatedly visited the state in recent months, the BJP has fielded seven MPs, including three Union ministers, and Vijayvargiya apparently to overcome anti-incumbency.

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Can Class II Officer "Instruct" Class I Officer: Letter Sparked Face-Off

An apparent wrong use of the word "nirdeshit" in a letter triggered a verbal duel between two officials in Uttar Pradesh's Ambedkarnagar district with a PWD executive engineer, a Class I officer, wondering if he can be "instructed" by a Class II officer.

The matter, however, got "amicably resolved" when District Magistrate Avinash Singh intervened.

It all started on September 16 with the then Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Jalalpur in Ambedkarnagar district, located almost 217 kilometre from state capital Lucknow, Sunil Kumar, writing to the executive engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD), Ambedkarnagar, M K Anil.

In the letter, Kumar (now transferred to Ballia as a routine process) said, "This is to inform you that bushes and branches of trees have come up on the Malipur to Jalalpur road. Owing to this, there is a high probability of accidents on the said road." "In view of the above (scenario), you are instructed ('nirdeshit') to get the branches and bushes grown and hanging on the sides of the road cleared, so that possibility of accidents can be minimised," the SDM wrote to Anil.

In his letter addressed to the SDM, Anil said, "You have been selected by the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC), and you are a Class II officer, while the current undersigned (executive engineer of the PWD) has been selected by the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission and posted as a Class I officer in the UP government." "Kindly clarify that under which manual of the Uttar Pradesh government, a Class II officer can 'instruct' a Class I officer, an effort, which has been made through your letter," Anil wrote in his letter dated September 22.

"Have you made available any budget to clear the Jalalpur-Malipur road of bushes and branches of trees," the executive engineer of the PWD sought to know in his letter.

Anil also asked the SDM (in his letter) that under which head the funds will be used, so that the said work could be done at the earliest.

Meanwhile, District Magistrate Avinash Singh, when contacted, told PTI on Saturday the SDM and the Executive Engineer informed him that it was a "typographical" error and miscommunication, which led to the situation.

"This has been amicably resolved through talks in a cordial atmosphere," the District Magistrate said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Man Who Made Threat Call To Nitin Gadkari Swallows Iron Wire In Jail

An accused, arrested for allegedly making threat calls to Union minister Nitin Gadkari's office, swallowed iron wire while in jail though he remains in good health as of now, police said on Saturday.

Jayesh Pujari alias Kantha, lodged in the Central Jail here, has been kept under monitoring, said an official.

Earlier this week, he told jail officials that he had swallowed a piece of wire and "50 tablets". He was produced before a court on Thursday where he reiterated the claim, and was examined, on the court's order, by the doctors at the Government Medical College and Hospital.

The examination confirmed the presence of wire fragments in his stomach, but his health remained unaffected and he was declared fit by the doctors, the official said.

He was then taken back to the central jail. The prison's medical team continues to monitor his condition closely, the official said.

Pujari had repeatedly tried to get himself transferred to the Belagavi jail where he had been lodged earlier, the official said. It is suspected that he wanted to move to that jail as he had built a criminal network there and enjoyed access to mobile phones and some other facilities.

While lodged in Belagavi jail, Pujari allegedly made threat calls to Gadkari's office in January this year after colluding with Bengaluru terror attack convict Afsar Pasha. Claiming to be a member of the Dawood Ibrahim gang, he demanded Rs 100 crore.

He made another call on March 21, after which he was arrested in the case and brought to Nagpur.

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"Refused To Meet Us In Delhi": Trinamool Leader vs Union Minister

Senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Saturday slammed Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti for allegedly spreading falsehood about a meeting with the party's delegation in New Delhi and stated that the TMC is prepared to meet her at Raj Bhavan to discuss the MGNREGA issue.

Mr Banerjee, the TMC national general secretary, also condemned the union minister of state for rural development for allegedly asking the TMC delegation to come to the state BJP office for a discussion on the state's MGNREGA “dues”, labelling it as a manifestation of a "Zamindari" culture mindset.

"When we went to meet her in New Delhi, she not only refused to meet us after making us wait for a long time, but also instructed the police to remove us from Krishi Bhawan. Just yesterday, I had mentioned that senior BJP leaders, including Giriraj Singh and Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, would come to Kolkata to meet us sensing the people's anger," Mr Banerjee said during the sit-in near the Raj Bhavan which entered its third day on Saturday.

Mr Banerjee, who along with other TMC leaders, is holding an indefinite sit-in outside Raj Bhavan in Kolkata since Thursday, has said they will continue the demonstration till Governor CV Ananda Bose meets the protesters.

Earlier in the day, the minister denied allegations that she declined to meet the TMC delegation in New Delhi, emphasising her willingness to deliberate on the issue, while accusing West Bengal's ruling party of engaging in political theatrics.

During a press conference, she stated that the BJP-led central government had never intended to withhold MGNREGA funds from West Bengal but pointed out discrepancies in fund utilisation in the state. Jyoti expressed her readiness to hold talks with the TMC delegation at any time but questioned their sincerity.

"Today, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti came to Kolkata to address a press conference, and as expected, she spread falsehoods about the meeting. But I was surprised by her audacity in asking us to come to the state BJP office to meet her. Why would we go to the BJP office to meet her? If she is genuinely interested in meeting us, she can come to Raj Bhavan, and we will meet her there," Mr Banerjee said.

The Diamond Harbour MP, considered number 2 in the party, also played an audio clip in which BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar can be heard purportedly saying that just one phone call could secure the release of MGNREGA funds from the state.

"In this audio clip, Sukanta Majumdar is heard saying that only one phone call would ensure the release of MGNREGA funds from the state. I would urge all of you to call him and ask him to make that call to get the funds withheld by the Centre released," he said, as he made public the mobile numbers of the BJP leader.

PTI, however, could not independently verify the authenticity of the audio clip.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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