Breaking News, March 3 | LIVE UPDATES

India has been providing information to Pakistan on the extraordinary discharges of water from reservoirs and flood flows every year, as mandated under the Indus Water Treaty, and if Islamabad requests to provide information beyond the Treaty provisions, New Delhi may examine the same as a gesture of goodwill, sources said on Thursday. During the three-day Meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission comprising Indus commissioners of India and Pakistan in Islamabad, both sides held discussions on all agenda items in a very cordial environment. In response to Pakistan's claims on flood data, the Indian side explicitly conveyed that as a responsible upper riparian State, India has been providing information on extraordinary discharges of water from reservoirs and flood flows every year, as mandated under the Treaty, sources said.

The 117th Meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) comprising of Indus Commissioners of India and Pakistan was held from March 1-3, 2022 in Islamabad, Pakistan. The last meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) was held from March 23-24, 2021 in New Delhi: MEA

During the meeting, technical discussions were held regarding ongoing projects including Pakal Dul, Kiru & Lower Kalnai. The Indian side underscored that all its projects are fully compliant with provisions of Treaty and provided technical details in support of its position: MEA

The Commission discussed the exchange of hydrological and flood data. Both sides discussed the issue of the Fazilka drain, and Pakistan assured that all necessary actions will continue to be taken to ensure the free flow of Fazilka drain into the river Sutlej: MEA

Both the Commissioners reaffirmed their commitment to interact more frequently in an attempt to resolve issues through bilateral discussions under the Treaty. It was agreed to hold the next meeting of the PIC in New Delhi on mutually convenient dates: MEA

The road ministry on Thursday said it has issued a notification to mandate the procedure for detailed investigation of road accidents, detailed accident report (DAR) and its reporting along with timelines for different stakeholders for quick settlement of claims by the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal (MACT). The ministry in a statement further said the incorporation of validated mobile numbers in the certificate of vehicle insurance has also been made mandatory.

The new rules will come into force from April 1, 2022.

According to the notification, immediately on receipt of the information of a road accident, the investigating officer of police shall inspect the site of accident, take photographs of the scene of the accident and the vehicle(s) involved in the accident and prepare a site plan.

• There has been a sharp surge in the number of Covid cases in many countries in the world. This notes an increasing trajectory of rising cases on a daily basis. Even today, around 15,00,000 cases are reported daily in the world: Luv Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry
• Now also across many countries, huge Covid cases are being reported. In some countries, an increase in trajectory of cases continues: Luv Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry
• A sharp reduction of Covid cases is observed in India. On average around 11,000 Covid cases are reported on a weekly basis in India. There has been a sharp reduction in the number of cases. Only 0.7% of global cases are reported in India: Luv Aggarwal, Joint Secy, Health Ministry
• There is a positive situation in number of deaths in India as compared to other countries. From Feb 2-8, India reported 615 deaths on average. In last week, 144 deaths were reported due to Covid. A decline of 76.6% from the peak of what India has seen: Jt Secy, Health Ministry
• Only a single state is having active cases over 10,000 & 2 states are having active cases between 5,000 to 10,000. Remaining states have less than 5,000 active cases. Kerala, Maharashtra, Mizoram accounts for 50% of active cases of the country: Joint Secy, Union Health Ministry
• The average weekly Covid positivity rate in India is 0.99%. The number of active cases in the country is around 77,000. In the last 24 hours, only 6,561 cases are reported in India:  Luv Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry
• Vaccine effectiveness in mortality prevention has been measured. The first dose is responsible for 98.9 % vaccine effectiveness and if both doses are given then it is 99.3 % effective: DG ICMR Dr. Balram Bhargava
• It is evident that vaccines and the wide vaccination coverage have played a very important role in protecting hundreds of lives. The vaccine has protected the nation from a surge in the number of Covid cases: Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, Niti Aayog

A special court here on Thursday extended the ED custody of Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik till March 7 in a money-laundering probe linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides. Malik was arrested on February 23 after being questioned for about five hours at the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) office in south Mumbai. He was produced before special court judge RN Rokade at the end of his initial remand on Thursday. The court extended his custody till March 7 for further probe into the case.

Four food delivery agents were killed after a speeding car hit their bikes on Arjun Marg at Golf Course road here. The accident occurred late Wednesday night when the victims- identified as Govind (20) of Madhya Pradesh, Gopal (21) of Uttarakhand, Jitender Mondal (35) and Rajneesh (22) of Bihar- were returning home. Police said the victims suffered multiple injuries and were bleeding profusely. "The victims were rushed to a private hospital, where they were declared brought dead," the police added. The accused have been identified and will be arrested soon, the police said. Police suspect the accused may have been driving under the influence of alcohol. A case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered, the police added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said Make in India is the need of the hour and appealed to the industry to reduce dependence on imports and boost domestic manufacturing. He urged the industry to take challenges and make efforts to cut imports of goods that can be manufactured in India. "Today, the world is looking at India as a manufacturing powerhouse," Modi said while addressing DPIIT's webinar on 'Make in India for the World'. The Prime Minister added that the industry will have to maintain global standards and compete globally and it is not acceptable that a country like India ends up merely as a market. He said that the Budget has many significant provisions for Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India.

The Delhi High Court Thursday refused to stay the process of appointment of Managing Director of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) while asking the Centre and Delhi government to respond to a plea seeking direction to fix a uniform age of 60 years for external and internal candidates applying for the post. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna issued notices to the Delhi government and Centre, through the Ministries of Housing and Urban Affairs and Law and Justice, and granted time to the authorities to file response to the Public Interest Litigation. The court, which listed the matter for further hearing on April 29, refused to stay the appointment procedure at this stage. The petition challenged the Delhi government’s February 10 notification calling for applications for the post, contending that it was arbitrary, irrational, unfair and contrary to the due procedure of the law.

The Kerala High Court has come down heavily on the passport authorities for compelling single parents, who are divorced or separated, to resort to litigation for reissuance of the travel document of their children, by saying that the officials concerned should be "pragmatic and reasonable" in their approach. The high court also imposed a cost of Rs 25,000 on an Assistant Passport Officer for his "high-handedness" in objecting to a divorced woman's application for re-issuance of her minor daughter's passport without the father's consent and asking her to get a court order for the same. The order by Justice Amit Rawal came on the woman's plea who claimed that the passport authorities did not process her application despite her giving an undertaking or declaration, as provided under the rules where one of the parents has not given consent, that the entire responsibility of the child would be hers as there is already an order of divorce. She had also submitted a copy of the divorce decree along with the application, her petition had said. The court termed as "high-handedness" the conduct of the Assistant Passport Officer in the instant case for raising objections with regard to re-issuance of the passport by a single parent facing a matrimonial discord and directing them to approach the court for an order. It further said, "This court has come across similar litigation day in and day out whereby the petitioners/applicants for re-issuance of passport particularly either of the parent who is facing the matrimonial discord or there is already a separation, are compelled to approach this court for appropriate order, despite filling the form Annexure 'C.' The officers at the helm of affairs exercising the powers for issuing the passport are supposed to deal with the application in a pragmatic and reasonable manner, but should not reject the application in the manner and mode as extracted above." The passport authorities, during the proceedings, told the court that the application by the woman has been processed and shall be issued within a week. Justice Rawal, however, observed that the step was taken by them "knowing full well that the court would express concern with regard to the spate of litigations and may come down heavily on the action of the respondents".

A 26-year old CISF constable deployed at Chennai Airport committed suicide by shooting himself with a self-loading rifle (SLR) in the toilet area at the International terminal: Chennai Police. 

Ahead of the Maharashtra legislature's budget session, BJP legislators staged a protest on steps of the Vidhan Bhavan here on Thursday against the state government's decision not to remove minister Nawab Malik from his post. Last week, the Enforcement Directorate arrested state Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik in connection with a money-laundering probe linked to the activities of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his aides. On Thursday, BJP legislators, led by Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis, LoP in the Legislative Council Pravin Darekar and state BJP president Chandrakant Patil shouted slogans against the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress. “This MVA government is sympathetic towards those who helped Dawood and his aides, convicted in the (1993) Mumbai bomb blasts. We condemn the decision to retain Malik as minister when there has been a precedent to remove a minister arrested under some charges,” Fadnavis said. The state legislature's budget session starting Thursday will conclude on March 25.

Five men were killed when a car rammed into a truck on the Delhi-Jaipur highway near Binaula village on Thursday, police said. Around 2 am the car crashed into the truck from behind. All five passengers of the car died on the spot, they said. After getting information, police reached the spot and managed to recover bodies. Assistant Sub-inspector (ASI) Gajender Singh, who is the investigating officer in the case, said, "We are trying to identify the deceased." He said the car's number plate had Rajasthan registration. 

With five more people succumbing on Wednesday night, the death toll in the February 25 LPG cylinder blast incident in UKP camp near Doranahalli in this district has risen to 10, as per sources. According to hospital authorities, several of the injured are still critical. As many as 24 people had suffered serious injuries in the incident. The five deceased have been identified as Veerabasappa (28), Bheemaraya (78), Kallappa Lakkashetty (50), Channaveera Myalagi (30) and Channappa (50). While 18-month-old Mahantesh, three-year-old Adya, Ningamma (85) had lost the battle on last Friday, Gangamma (50), succumbed to her burn injuries on Saturday and Shwetha (6) on Monday. The incident had taken place in a house during a 'seemantha'' (baby shower) programme. Fourteen severely injured persons are being treated at the Kalaburagi hospital. SP, Yadgir Vedmurthy, stated that a case has been lodged against the owner of Vijay Gas Agency and Indane Gas distributors of Shahapur under IPC Sections 285 (negligible conduct with respect to combustible matter), 337 (causing hurt by an act which endangers human life), 338 (causing grievous hurt by an act), 304 A (causing death by negligence). An investigation is underway.

A total of 276 people, including over 150 women, have gone missing in Maharashtra's Raigad district over the last 14 months, police here said. Many of the women left their homes due to domestic disputes, for jobs or over love affairs following opposition from their family members, the Raigad police said in a release. The police had also registered 280 cases pertaining to domestic assault or cruelty during the period. Out of these cases, 13 were based on complaints lodged by men against women, the release said.

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The Delhi Police has arrested two persons for allegedly killing a 27-year-old man following a quarrel in south Delhi's Hauz Khas area, officials said on Wednesday. The accused have been identified as Deepak Kumar (31) and Himanshu Kumar (24), both residents of Gautam Nagar here, they said. After receiving information about the incident, the police reached the spot and found the body of the deceased, identified as Shivam Pandey, lying there, officials said. The police analysed the footage from CCTV cameras and found that Pandey along with five to six of his friends had come to the house of a man named Sanjeev in Gautam Nagar area, they said. When he was talking to Sanjeev, four men came from inside the house and started firing at Pandey who tried to escape. However, the four men chased him and after Pandey fell down, one of them fired three rounds at his head and fled, a senior police officer said.

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's Mercedes was hit by a car in Jaipur on Wednesday. However, no one suffered any injury in the mishap. According to the onlookers, the girl driving the car apologised to Raje, to which the former Chief Minister said, "It doesn't matter, but drive the car slowly and carefully." The incident took place in front of the Biyani College in the Vidyadhar Nagar police station area when Raje was on her way to her residence. Raje was sitting in the front seat of the car, while OSD Mahendra Bharadwaj was sitting behind when the car hit the Mercedes from the left side. The collision caused damage to the front gate on the left side of the Mercedes. The girl driving the car was stopped following which she apologised to Raje. On getting information about the incident, officers from the accident police station along with Vidyadhar Nagar station in-charge reached the spot, but Raje asked them not to act on the matter. The girl got very scared after the incident, so Raje asked her to drive home calmly.

A leopard skin was seized and a wildlife criminal arrested in Odisha's Gajapati district on Wednesday, police said. On the basis of reliable information, a team from the Crime Branch's Special Task Force (STF) conducted a raid on the road near Mahendragarh under R. Udayagiri police station limits in Gajapati and seized the leopard skin from the possession of a man, identified as Pabitra Lima. Lima has been handed over to the local forest officials while the seized leopard skin will be sent to Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun for chemical examination, the STF said. So far, the STF wing of Odisha police has seized 26 leopard skins, 15 elephant tusks, 7 deer skins, 11 live pangolins, 19.5 kg of pangolin scales, 2 leopard teeth, 29 leopard claws and 46 live wild parrots, and arrested 60 wildlife criminals involved in the illegal trade.

Two men were arrested for allegedly preparing fake RT-PCR reports in the name of a laboratory in south Delhi through fraudulent means, police said on Wednesday. The accused were identified as Aamir Ansari (32) and Mohammad Anas (25), they added. The arrests were made based on a complaint from a man who runs a diagnostic laboratory where RT-PCR tests are also conducted, police said. The complainant alleged that they received an RT-PCR report and after verification, it was found that it was not generated from their laboratory. He also alleged that false RT-PCR reports were being prepared in the name of their laboratory by unidentified people. On the basis of the complainant's statement, a case was registered, a senior police officer said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Benita Mary Jaiker said during the course of the probe, police gathered all the relevant information of the laboratory. The QR codes and website domains of the laboratory were also found to be prepared fraudulently. "A police team analysed the technical details and started the investigation through technical surveillance. It helped the team in identifying the cheats and with the help of technical surveillance, the location of the accused persons was traced. A trap was laid around the location and finally, one suspect was nabbed," the officer said. The accused, Ansari, tried to mislead the police team by stating wrong facts but on consistent questioning, broke down and confessed to his involvement. "During interrogation, Ansari told police that he, along with his accomplice named Mohammad Anas, used to procure fake RT-PCR test reports and provide them in favour of a customer as positive or negative by charging Rs 1,000," the officer said. Anas was also apprehended on the instance of Ansari, she added. A computer and two mobile phones allegedly used in the commission of the crime were seized from their possession, police said.

A man allegedly lured a 16-year-old girl of his village under the Farrukhnagar police station area on the pretext of giving her a ride in his car and raped her in the vehicle, police said on Wednesday. Accused Sanjay alias Chhota called out the girl sleeping in her room from the window and took her away in his car and dropped her before a school gate in the village, police said. The fact that the girl had gone missing was reported to the police by her mother following which a police team launched a search for her and recovered her from near the school gate, Additional SHO Vikas Kumar of Farrukhnagar police station said. This incident happened on late Tuesday night, he said, adding the girl was subsequently sent for medical examination and a case of rape under IPC and POCSO Act provisions was registered after the offence was medically confirmed. The police are trying to nab the accused, he said.

Eight members of a gang which allegedly conspired to kill Telangana Tourism Minister V Srinivas Goud have been arrested, police said on Wednesday. Three of the accused were picked up from Delhi from the servant's quarters of the residence of senior BJP leader and former Mahabubnagar MP, AP Jithender Reddy, they said. According to police, Reddy’s driver and personal assistant had arranged shelter for the accused in Delhi. "The gang members conspired to kill (Telangana) Cabinet Minister V Srinivas Goud," Cyberabad Police Commissioner M Stephen Raveendra told reporters.

The Gurugram police has decided to contact various ordnance factories including one in Muradnagar in Ghaziabad in a bid to trace the origin of a cache of explosives recovered from a vacant house here during the probe into a triple murder case in the city. “We will be writing to ordnance factories in Khagaria, Madhya Pradesh, Muradnagar (in UP’s Ghaziabad district) and Sivakasi Fire Factory in Tamil Nadu which manufacture these kinds of ammunition to identify their probable buyers," the police said in a statement. The investigation so far has revealed that the plot in which the explosives were discovered was registered in name of Parasram Holdings Company which has three directors -- Ravindra Agarwal, Vivek Agarwal and Anshu Agarwal, police said on Wednesday. Company directors Ravindra Agarwal and Vivek Agarwal joined the investigation while Anshu Agarwal was not available, they said.