Breaking News March 30

Rajasthan BJP President C.P. Joshi claimed on Thursday that weak lobbying was done by the state government in the Jaipur serial bomb blasts case. Joshi's remark came after the Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday acquitted all the four men who were sentenced to death in 2019 for the 2008 serial bomb blasts in Jaipur that killed 71 people and injured 185 others. The court also upheld the acquittal of a fifth accused besides accepting the plea of one of the accused stating that he was a minor. "The entire case puts the government under suspicion for gross negligence. The acquittals show the insensitivity of the government in this whole matter. Seventy-one innocent lives were lost in the bomb blasts while hundreds of people were left. The government should punish the accused by strong lobbying in the Supreme Court and justice should be done to the victims.

Police on Thursday arrested a man hailing from Uttarakhand who worked at a hotel in Goa for allegedly attacking a woman tourist from the Netherlands. The alleged incident had taken place late Friday night. Superintendent of Police (North Goa) Nidhin Valsan told reporters that the accused, who is from Dehradun, worked as a bar tenderer at the hotel in Pernem area.

A chartered accountant was allegedly blackmailed to pay Rs 40,000 after being trapped by a "sextortion" racket online, police said on Thursday. According to the complaint, the victim received a video call from a profile named Krishna Chauhan on Facebook around 12.30 am on March 28, which got disconnected a few seconds ago. The complainant said after some time he received an edited video of himself in nude condition, "I was shocked." Soon after he got a call on WhatsApp where the caller asked him to transfer Rs 40,000 or he will post his video online. When they started demanding more money, the 29-year-old moved to police, he added. An FIR was registered against an unknown accused under sections 420 (cheating), 384 (extortion) of IPC and section 67 and 67-A of the IT act at the cyber crime police station, west. "FIR has been registered and a probe is underway. The accused will be arrested soon," said inspector Amit Kumar, SHO of the cyber crime police station, west

The country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp on Thursday said it has elevated Niranjan Gupta as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Gupta, currently designated as Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Head - Strategy and M&A, takes over as the CEO with effect from May 1, 2023. The company's board has appointed Gupta as the new CEO elevating him from his current position as its CFO, Head - Strategy and M&A, the two-wheeler major said in a regulatory filing. Pawan Munjal will continue as executive chairman and whole-time director on the company's board, it added.

As many as 22 flights were diverted from the Delhi airport on Thursday evening due to bad weather in the national capital. These flights were diverted to Lucknow, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Dehradun, an airport official said. Thunderstorms with light rains lashed parts of the national capital. The official said 11 flights were diverted to Lucknow, 8 to Jaipur and 1 each to Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Dehradun.

Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj held a meeting with experts on Thursday to assess the Covid situation in the national capital and said there was no need to panic because of a spurt in cases. The meet came a day after Delhi's COVID-19 cases climbed to 300 for the first time since August 31 last year, while the positivity rate rose to 13.89 per cent, according to the data shared by the health department. Two Covid-related deaths were also reported, it said. Addressing a press conference, Bharadwaj said they were getting some indicators about the spike in Covid cases but they are fully prepared. "Last night, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called me to discuss about the Covid situation and he asked me to convene an emergency meeting on Thursday. In the meeting today, epidemiologist, genome sequencing expert, special secretary (health) were present and we analysed the situation closely," he said. He said there is no need to panic due to the high positivity rate. Sources said Bharadwaj was briefed about the hospitalisation rate and the symptoms in patients. He was told that the genome sequencing of samples has shown that the surge is driven by the XBB variant of the coronavirus and its sub-variants and there is no new variant.

Eastern India's first Bharat Gaurav special tourist train will embark on a journey from Kolkata on May 20 touring five Jyotirlingas, a senior railway official said here on Thursday. Eastern Railway General Manager Arun Arora said that IRCTC is offering 700 seats for the journey in a new LHB rake. Commencing its journey from Kolkata station, the pilgrimage will cover Omkareshwar, Mahakaleshwar, Somnath, Nageswar and Trimbakeshwar over 11 nights and 12 days, he said.

The Supreme Court has told the Maharashtra government why it should order for a CBI probe into the alleged lynching of three persons in Palghar in 2020 when the state has no objection to such an investigation. The court asked the Maharashtra government to file an affidavit to this effect. "Why should we pass the order that you (Maharashtra) give it to CBI," a bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala told the counsel for the Maharashtra government on Wednesday when he said the state has no objection to the submissions of the petitioners that the case be probed by the central probe agency. Earlier, the erstwhile Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had opposed the plea for CBI probe into the case.

A fire broke out at a temple in Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari district on Thursday at the end of Sri Rama Navami festivities, an official said. Nobody was injured as the devotees had already gone out of the Venugopala Swamy temple premises on a procession as part of the festival in Duvva village in Tanuku mandal. “It was a short-circuit and there was no loss of life or injury,” confirmed West Godavari district Superintendent of Police (SP) U Ravi Prakash. The fire erupted at noon after the completion of puja (rituals) and when the procession was already on its way into the village.

The Delhi High Court has upheld a five-year jail term awarded to a school bus driver for sexually assaulting two minor students of class 5 in 2014. The accused had challenged a 2020 trial court decision holding him guilty of section 354A (sexual harassment) IPC and section 10 (punishment for aggravated sexual assault) of POCSO Act on grounds that there were contradictions in the prosecution case and both the victims could not give the exact date and narration of the event. Dismissing the appeal, Justice Jasmeet Singh observed that the nature and gravity of the accusation were very serious and the minor contradictions in the version of the two victims did not make their testimonies unreliable. “The testimonies of both victim No.1 and 2 clearly describe the acts of aggravated sexual assault committed by the appellant on the minor child victims. The description of the incident has been described by both the victims in an identical manner and hence, the contention that the contradictions shake the version of the prosecution and makes it unreliable cannot be accepted," said the court in its judgement passed on Wednesday. “In the present case, even though both the victims were of tender age i.e., aged only about 10 years at the time of incident, they have duly corroborated the incident,” asserted the court.

Amidst an ongoing face-off between the Congress and the BJP over Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from Lok Sabha, Germany has 'taken note' of the issue, triggering a fresh political slugfest here on Thursday with the ruling party accusing the opposition party of "inviting foreign powers" to interfere in internal matters. The BJP attack came after senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh thanked the German foreign ministry and Richard Walker, Chief International Editor of Deutsche Welle, for "taking note of how Democracy is being compromised in India through the persecution of Rahul Gandhi". The Congress alleged that the BJP was attempting to divert attention from the Adani issue. Singh tagged a tweet by Walker in which the senior journalist had posted a video of a German foreign ministry spokesperson reacting to Gandhi's disqualification.

CBI conducted a raid in Delhi to expose a nexus between Safdarjung Hospital doctors and middleman. Few people including a doctor from the neurosurgery department and middlemen have been apprehended by the agency. CBI has found some increment documents, the official said that the matter is related to corruption. More details awaited.

"It's an unfortunate incident. A rescue operation is underway. 10 people were rescued safely while nine are trapped and will be rescued. Efforts are underway to rescue other people," said Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on stepwell collapse at Indore temple.

https://twitter.com/ANI_MP_CG_RJ/status/1641356629470838784

Andhra Pradesh: Fire breaks out at a temple in Duva village in West Godavari district during Rama Navami celebrations. No casualties reported.

Many feared being trapped after a stepwell at a temple collapsed at a temple in the Patel Nagar area in Indore.

A scuffle broke out between police and some people after the arrest of two persons in Delhi's Indira Vikas Colony. Police initiated legal action in this matter and are registering a case. One of them is the brother of the accused, who has been arrested, said Delhi Police.

JDS MLA from Gubbi constituency Srinivas joins Congress party in the presence of Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar and Congress leader Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru.

Justice TS Sivagnanam, appointed as Acting Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court with effect from March 31.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bhopal on April 1. PM will attend Combined Commanders’ Conference-2023 at the Kushabhau Thakre Hall in Bhopal. PM will also flag off the Vande Bharat Express train between Bhopal and New Delhi at Rani Kamlapati Railway Station, Bhopal.

Fromer Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said he have taken decision not to contest Assembly election. "I also resigned from CM post as I have already crossed 80 years of age. Even if I have crossed 80 years, I will go around in state not only this time but next time as well. We will see we will get majority not only this time but also next time," he said.

Yog Guru Ramdev and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat participated in 'Sanyas Diksha Mahotsav' organised at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar.

Bombay High Court quashed 2019 complaint against actor Salman Khan by scribe alleging misbehaviour.

Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said that an emergency meeting has been called at 12 noon today on the instructions of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, keeping in view the increase in COVID cases in Delhi. As of now, there is no discussion on any restrictions.

The Central Government has given full exemption from basic customs duty on all drugs and Food for Special Medical Purposes imported for personal use for treatment of all Rare Diseases listed under the National Policy for Rare Diseases 2021 through a general exemption notification.

As many as 3,016 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported on Wednesday, highest in nearly six months. The active cases rose to 13,509. The death toll in the country till now including all three Covid waves stands at 5,30,862 with 14 latest fatalities — three reported by Maharashtra, two from Delhi and one reported by Himachal Pradesh in a span of 24 hours and eight reconciled by Kerala.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee sings a Bengali song on the second day of her Dharna in Kolkata, against the Central government for not clearing funds for several schemes including 100 days work.

Devotees participated in the ‘Rukuna Rath Yatra’ of Lord Lingaraj in Bhubaneswar on the occasion of Ram Navami.

A five-year-old boy was killed when a wall collapsed in Alona village here, police said on Thursday. The incident took place on Wednesday when five-year-old Harsh was taking bath in the lawn of his house and the wall of his neighbour collapsed, SHO, Anil Kumar Sahu said. His body was later taken out of the debris by villagers and sent for postmortem.

A clash broke out between two groups over playing music outside a Mosque while Namaz was going on, in Jalgaon district. Two FIRs have been registered, we've arrested 45 people so far. 4 people are injured in the violence. The present situation is peaceful and is under control in the area, said M Rajkumar, Jalgaon SP.

President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday greeted people on Rajasthan Day and said residents of the state will create a golden future besides making invaluable contribution in the development of the country. Rajasthan came into existence on this day in 1949.

"My greetings to all the countrymen, especially the people of the state, on Rajasthan Day. Culture, hospitality, bravery, enterprise and tourist places are the identity of Rajasthan. It is my belief that on the strength of such characteristics, the residents of the state will create a golden future and make invaluable contribution in the development of the country," Murmu tweeted in Hindi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday paid homage to Indian revolutionary and freedom fighter Shyamji Krishna Varma on his death anniversary, lauding him as a devout nationalist and courageous personality.  "A devout nationalist and courageous personality, he was at the forefront of India's struggle against injustice and colonial rule. Inspired by his ideals, we will keep working for the people of our great nation," Modi tweeted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi wished people on the auspicious occasion of Ram Navami on Thursday and said the life of Lord Ram will be an inspiration for humanity in every era. "'Maryada Purushottam' Lord Ram's life was based on sacrifice, tapasya, restraint and resolve," Modi tweeted on the occasion of the festival celebrated to mark His birth anniversary.

Morning aarti being performed at Delhi's Chhatarpur Temple, on the occasion of Ram Navami.

A clash broke out between two groups in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar's Kiradpura area. Stones were pelted, some private and police vehicles were set on fire. Police used force to disperse the people and now the situation is peaceful. Police will take strict action against the miscreants, said Nikhil Gupta, CP, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.