Breaking News on December 24

A delegation of All India Muslim Action committee will meet Telangana Chief Minister tomorrow. They will give a presentation to him on CAA, NRC and NPR. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi will also be a part of that delegation, reports ANI.

A mild earthquake shook West Bengals Jalpaiguri district on Tuesday evening, an IMD official said. The 3.2 magnitude quake was felt at around 8.07 pm, he said.

"The earthquake of 3.2 magnitude was felt in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. The epicentre was located at latitude 26.6 N and longitude 88.8 E with a depth of 32 kilometres," the official said.

An official of the state Disaster Management department said that so far there was no report of any casualty.

In a major development, 72 companies of Central Armed Police Forces have been withdrawn from Jammu and Kashmir with immediate effect. These comprise 24 companies of CRPF, 12 companies of BSF, 12 companies of ITBP, 12 companies of CISF and 12 companies of SSB. The information is attributed to ANI, which has quoted officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Even if one person from Jharkhand is uprooted due to CAA, it will not be implemented. Jharkhand results have shown local issues in states are people's top-most priority: Hemant Soren

Prime Minister Modi congratulated President Ghani on the announcement of preliminary official results of the Presidential elections, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

"The Prime Minister also complimented the people of Afghanistan on the successful conduct of the elections and the subsequent process in face of daunting challenges, which represents the strengthening of roots of democracy in Afghanistan," the MEA said.

Reiterating India’s abiding commitment, as a close friend and neighbour, to a unified, sovereign, democratic, prosperous and peaceful Afghanistan, the Prime Minister underlined India’s principled support to an inclusive peace process in Afghanistan which is Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled, the statement said.

President Ghani thanked the Prime Minister, the Government and the people of India for their continued support to democracy and development in Afghanistan.  He stressed his desire to strengthen all-round cooperation between the two countries, it read.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes has extended the due date for filing of ITRs/Tax Audit Reports to 31 Jan, 2020 for all categories of assessees in UTs of J&K and Ladakh, who were required to file ITRs/TARs within due date specified in the order issued on 24.12.2019

Hours after the Union Cabinet approved Rs 3,941.35 crore for updating the NPR, the CPI(M) on Tuesday said that chief ministers who opposed the NRC should also stop the National Population Register process.

The NPR is a list of "usual residents" of the country. A "usual resident" is defined as a person who has resided in a local area for the past six months or more or a person who intends to reside in that area for the next six months or more.

Hemant Soren Tuesday formally elected JMM legislature party leader, party sources said.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) Hemant Soren met former CM and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha chief, Babulal Marandi. "Our party will support Hemant Soren, unconditionally, because he has the required majority," said Marandi.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called for an all-party meeting of leaders of political parties, religious and social organizations, over Citizenship Amendment Act, on December 29 in Thiruvananthapuram.

Union Cabinet on Tuesday took a big decision by approving restructuring of Railway Board. According to the new approval, the Railway Board will be downsized from 8 members to 5. A decision to this effect was taken in the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The difference cadres in Indian Railway will now be merged into a single railway management system. 

Instead of Railway Board members for Traffic, Rolling Stock, Traction and Engineering, the newly constituted board will have members for Operation, Business Development, Human Resources, Infrastructure and Finance. 

Prakash Javdekar said that no documentation is necessary for NPR

Rs 13000 crore have been allotted for Census and NPR, said Prakash Javdekar

No biometrics are needed for NPR, said Prakash Javdekar during press conference on NPR

Anyone who stays in India will be counted in NPR, said Prakash Javdekar during press conference on NPR

App to be used to conduct next Census, said Union Minister Prakash Javdekar

Complaint has been filed in the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh against Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Piyanka Gandhi Vadra and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi for giving out anti-CAA speech. 

Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi stopped on their way to Meerut, where they had gone to meet the victims of of alleged police firing during the anti-CCA stir

Section 144 imposed in Delhi's Mandi House on Tuesday morning. Delhi Police says no permission has been given to hold a protest demo from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi to unveil statue of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee tomorrow at Lok Bhawan in Lucknow on Vajpayee's birth anniversary

Two persons were killed and 18 others injured when a tempo fell in a ditch near Sahinga village here, police said on Tuesday.

The incident took place on Monday evening in Tindwari area killing tempo driver Akhtar Khan (38) and his uncle Hasmat (45) on the spot while injuring 18 others.

The injured have been rushed to the hospital where their condition was stated to be stable, police said.

Equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty started on a cautious note on Tuesday tracking thin trade in global equities ahead of year-end holidays.

The 30-share BSE index was trading 39.84 points or 0.10 per cent higher at 41,682.50 in early session. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 13.10 points or 0.11 per cent to 12,275.85.

Delhi shivered with the minimum temperature plummeting to 5.7 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, second-lowest in December this year, which was two notches below the average.

The minimum temperature on December 19 fell to 5.2 degrees Celsius.

Moderate fog wrapped the city dropping visibility and delaying train traffic.

Plea moved in High Court seeking recovery of damages for destruction of public and private property during anti-CAA protests in Delhi

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha(JMM) legislative party meeting to be held later today in Ranchi.

Pakistani Hindu refugees in Rajasthan's Jaisalmer held a march on Monday, in support of Citizenship Amendment Act. A refugee said: "We have been staying here since last 5-7 years & we are yet to get citizenship. We don't get facilities. This act will help us lead a better life."

Massive fire broke out in two factories in Narela Industrial area, earlier today. Flames have been doused in one of the factories while fire fighting operations are underway at the other.

Union Cabinet meeting to be held in Delhi, today.

Victim of an alleged gang-rape, along with her father & mother consumed poison outside the office of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), allegedly due to police inaction.

"It seems they were motivated by some other people to take this step. We recovered a note saying sections have been reduced, however, sections have been increased. We have also arrested accused persons, accusations are baseless," Prabhakar Chaudhary, SSP said.

Goa Forward Party (GFP) president Vijai Sardesai on Monday night said the outcome of the Jharkhand assembly polls indicate that voters are reposing
their trust in a "regionalistic ideology". In a setback for the ruling BJP, a combine of JMM-Congress-RJD is set to form government in Jharkhand.

"Another state reposes its trust in a regionalistic​ ideology, a regionalistic leader and a regionalistic party. The Jharkhand Election Result is not an aberration or a political quirk but the glorious consequence of a staunch but repressed sentiment asserting itself," tweeted Sardesai who was once part of the BJP-led government in Goa. 

Jamia Millia Islamia vice-chancellor Najma Akhtar on Monday met a student who lost vision in his eye allegedly in police action at the university library on December 15.

A statement said that Akhtar met Mohammad Minhajuddin and the father of Ajaz, a university student who was also injured in protests on the same day.

The police had entered the university that day in search of 'outsiders' who had entered campus. 

On December 19, Akhtar had held a video conference with the injured students and had assured them of all possible help from the varsity. 

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) on Monday alleged six students have been academically suspended for their participation in the protest over hostel fee hike.  

The JNU administration is formulating a strategy of mass intimidation by sending proctorial enquiries to students en masse and even academically suspending them as well as evicting them from hostels and declaring them out of bounds, the JNUSU alleged. 

At least seven people, including two women, were killed and three others injured in two separate accidents in various parts of the district here on Monday, police said.

A tempo collided head-on with a tanker near Malhai village, killing four people, including the tempo driver, on the spot and injuring two others, they said. The injured, who were admitted to a hospital, succumbed later, police said, adding that the condition of the other two injured is critical.

The tanker driver, however, managed to flee, they said. In another incident, a woman was killed while a man injured when a motorcycle collided with a car near Nagla Kolhu village, Deputy Superintendent of Police Mahaban Vijai Shankar Mishra said.

Three persons who were trapped in a septic tank while cleaning on Monday, died due to suffocation, in Mumbai's Govandi. The case has been registered, further investigation underway.