Breaking News, January 4 | HIGHLIGHTS

The CBI on Wednesday arrested two officials of an insurance company for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 5 lakh, officials said. N S Sidhu, insurance surveyor, and J K Mittal, regional manager, both from the New India Assurance Company, were arrested in Chandigarh as part of a trap in which former was caught red handed, they said. The surveyor allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 12 lakh for releasing the complainant's insurance claim of his factory and to prevent filing appeal in higher court, a CBI Spokesperson said.

Four cases of Omicron subvariant BF.7 were detected in West Bengal, a health official said on Wednesday. Genome sequencing of the four people, who have recently returned from the US, confirmed that they were infected with the new variant of the coronavirus, he said. The condition of the four patients is stable, he said.

Gold price rose by Rs 378 to Rs 56,130 per 10 gram in the national capital on Wednesday amid a rally in the precious metal prices globally, according to HDFC Securities. The yellow metal had settled at Rs 55,752 per 10 gram in the previous trade. Silver, however, declined by Rs 147 to Rs 70,675 per kilogram. "Comex spot gold prices traded higher in early Asian hours on Wednesday," said an analyst at HDFC Securities.

The Sensex skidded 637 points while the Nifty plunged below the 18,050-level on Wednesday as investors took money off the table after a two-day rally ahead of the release of US Fed meeting minutes. Unabated foreign fund outflows also weighed on sentiment, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex slumped 636.75 points or 1.04 per cent to settle at 60,657.45. The broader NSE Nifty ended lower by 189.60 points or 1.04 per cent at 18,042.95. Tata Steel was the biggest loser among Sensex components, slipping 2.32 per cent, followed by Power Grid, Tata Motors, Wipro, Infosys, HDFC Bank, HDFC and Reliance Industries.

The government on Wednesday said it has approved Rs 28.11 crore to extend the interest-free loan to tobacco farmers of Andhra Pradesh. This measure will help the FCV (Flue Cured Virginia) tobacco farmers overcome the damage caused by Mandous Cyclonic rains, the commerce ministry said in a statement. The interest-free loan to the eligible farmers will be administered by the Tobacco Board, it added.       
 

The Supreme Court has dismissed with a cost of Rs 50,000 a plea seeking a direction to not consider advocates practising in the apex court for judgeship in the high courts, saying it is "meritless" and "complete wastage of judicial time". A bench of Justices S K Kaul and A S Oka observed there is nothing in the Constitution which prohibits lawyers practising in the top court to be appointed as a judge of the high courts.

The Union Cabinet has given ex-post facto approval for naming of Greenfield International Airport at Goa's Mopa as Manohar International Airport, after former defence minister and Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar. "To fulfil the cherished aspirations of the people of the State of Goa, Chief Minister of Goa conveyed unanimous decision of the Cabinet of State Government of Goa to name the Greenfield International Airport, Mopa, Goa as 'Manohar International Airport – Mopa, Goa'," the Cabinet said in a statement.  The airport at Mopa, Goa was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December, 2022.

The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Wednesday threatened to target the top leaders of the two major political parties in the ruling coalition if they continued to support tough measures against the militants. The TTP, which is believed to be close to al-Qaeda, has warned Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari led Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) - the two major parties of the ruling coalition. "If these two parties remain firm on their position and continue to be slaves of the army, then action will be taken against their leading people," a statement issued by the militant group said.

Hair, bone samples sent for DNA mitochondrial profiling confirmed to be of deceased Shradha Walkar: Delhi Police on Mehrauli killing case

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Wednesday informed the Delhi High Court that the state government is not inclined to provide it over Rs 3,500 crore towards equity for payment of the arbitral award which was passed in favour of Reliance Infrastructure-owned Delhi Metro Express Private Limited. The DMRC submitted the Delhi government has said that shareholders cannot be held liable for payments arising out of disputes or contractual defaults, and that the Corporation may raise money from the open market or externally aided funds or as loan from the central government to meet this liability.

Police in Somalia say two suicide car bombers killed at least 10 people early Wednesday when they targeted a military facility in a region at the heart of the government's offensive against al-Shabab extremists. The attack occurred in the Mahaas district of Hiran region after the dawn prayer. “It was loud and heard all across the town,” resident Osman Abdullahi told The Associated Press. “I have rescued several people wounded in the attack, including soldiers and journalists who were embedded with soldiers.” Police official Mahad Abdulle told the AP the vehicles exploded in a neighbourhood full of civilians and that at least 10 people were killed.

After being acquitted of gang rape charges, a man from Madhya Pradesh's Ratlam has sought compensation of more than Rs 10,000 crore from the state government citing "suffering and mental agony" caused to him as his incarceration sent his family to the brink of starvation. Of the Rs 10,006.02 crore compensation, the man has sought Rs 2 lakh towards the "loss of God's gift to humans e.g. sexual pleasure", as per his petition. Kantu, alias Kantilal Bheel (35), moved the district and sessions court after a local court on October 20, 2022, dropped the gang rape charges, said his lawyer Vijay Singh Yadav. His case against the MP government and the investigators will be heard on January 10. Asked about the whopping recompense, Yadav said Rs 10,000 crore has been sought on the grounds that "human life is precious", while the remaining Rs 6.02 crore is for various reasons, including legal expenses of Rs 2 lakh, mental agony and suffering by his family. In his petition, Bheel said he was the sole breadwinner for his family when the police arrested him in the gang rape case on December 23, 2020. Yadav said Bheel supported his ageing

Police have seized 1,334 kg of ganja worth Rs 1.33 crore concealed as medicinal tablets from a bus in Gujarat's Bharuch city and arrested five persons in this connection, officials said on Wednesday. Acting on a tip-off, the Bharuch police's Special Operations Group kept a watch near Zadeshwar crossroad on the city's outskirts on Tuesday and intercepted the private bus which was on way to Surat in Gujarat from Uttar Pradesh, the SOG said in a press release. The police arrested three bus passengers, who hailed from Madhya Pradesh, after seizing ganja which was being transported to Surat, it said. The contraband was mixed with Ayurvedic medicines, turned into pills and packaged accordingly to mislead the law enforcement agencies, the release said. The police also arrested two "receivers" (of the drug) from Surat. They also declared two other persons, one from Uttar Pradesh and another from Surat, as wanted in the case.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday (January 4) met the family of Anjali Singh who was hit and dragged by a car in outer Delhi on New Year and assured a government job to one of her kin. Anjali Singh was killed in the early hours of the New Year after her scooter was hit by the car which dragged her for 12 kilometres. Her body was found in outer Delhi's Kanjhawala. She was returning home on a scooter along with her friend in the early hours of last Sunday when the incident happened on the road from Sultanpuri to Kanjhawla. "It was an incident of dreadful savagery. We will provide a job to one of her family members," the deputy chief minister said after meeting her family members. Police have arrested five persons who were in the car when the incident occurred. The mortal remains of 20-year-old Singh were cremated on Tuesday amid tight security.

Some unknown persons have vandalised a local shop of a CPI functionary here as they were allegedly enraged over social media posts he had put up praising a newly-released movie revolving around Lord Ayyappa, police said. The light and sound service shop, owned by C Pragilesh, in Kerala's Malappuram district was found destroyed on the night of January 1, police added. Several newly-made boards and decorative lamps kept near the shop were damaged in the attack, they said. A local leader of the CPI, Pragilesh charged that some persons had threatened via social media to attack the shop after he praised the film 'Malikappuram'. With actor Unni Mukundan in the lead role, the film narrates the story of a little village girl who has a strong desire to visit 

Career consultancy for admission into MBBS course has cost almost Rs 14 lakh to an aspiring doctor, who has now filed a complaint of fraud with the Noida police, officials said on Wednesday. The police lodged an FIR into the cheating case on Tuesday and an investigation has been launched to trace the accused people, Sector 126 police station in-charge Satendra Kumar said. Darshika Singh (26), a Lucknow resident, claimed she took the NEET examination in 2022 and was searching for colleges when she got a phone call on October 13 last year from a person who identified himself as an official of Noida-based Truth Advisors Career Consultancy.

Five security guards were injured in a clash with vendors near central Delhi's India Gate, police said on Wednesday. The incident took place on Tuesday at Children Park on Shahjahan Road, they said. A clash broke out between private security guards and vendors as they were not allowed to sell eatables in the area, Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Pranav Tayal said. The India Gate stretch is a no-vending zone, police said. When the guards asked them to vacate the India Gate stretch, some vendors got angry over this issue. At around 3.30 pm, when the NDMC truck was trying to load their materials, some of the vendors started pelting construction materials and sticks on the guards, the DCP said.

The Supreme Court of India will hear a plea challenging the Uttarakhand High Court's plea directing the removal of encroachments from 29 acres of railway land in Haldwani on Thursday. A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices S A Nazeer and P S  Narasimha posted the matter for hearing after advocate Prashant Bhushan mentioned the matter. Bhushan submitted that the case- of more than 5,000 houses in Haldwani being demolished- is similar to the matter scheduled to be heard on Thursday. The apex court agreed to tag the matter and posted the matter for hearing on Thursday. 

The Forest department's search and rescue operation continued for a second day after a leopard was spotted inside a group housing society in Greater Noida (West), officials said. Residents claimed to have seen the feline moving around in the area on Wednesday morning. The leopard sighting triggered panic among residents of Ajnara Le Garden in Sector 16 of Greater Noida (West), also known as Noida Extension, on Tuesday. While a team from the Forest department at Gautam Buddh Nagar rushed to the spot, experts from Meerut and Agra were roped in later in the day, an official said.

 India recorded 175 new Covid infections in a day while active caseload declined to 2,570, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Wednesday. The tally of Covid cases in India is at 4.46 crore while the death toll is 5,30,707, data updated at 8 am stated. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 0.09 per cent while the weekly positivity was 0.12 per cent.
 

 Thousands of employees of three state-owned power companies went on a 72-hour strike on Wednesday to protest against the privatisation of power firms even as the government invoked the Maharashtra Essential Services Maintenance Act (MESMA), a leader from the employees' union said.
The government has asked the officials concerned to take all necessary steps to ensure normal supply of electricity in the state.

 West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be visiting the Sagar Island in South 24 Parganas district on Wednesday to review the preparations for the Gangasagar Mela, officials said.
Lakhs of people gather at Sagar Island from across the country to take a holy dip at the confluence of the sacred Ganga and the Bay of Bengal on the occasion of 'Makar Sankranti'.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be visiting the Sagar Island in South 24 Parganas district on Wednesday to review the preparations for the Gangasagar Mela, officials said. Lakhs of people gather at Sagar Island from across the country to take a holy dip at the confluence of the sacred Ganga and the Bay of Bengal on the occasion of 'Makar Sankranti'. While 15.5 lakh pilgrims visited Gangasagar Mela last year amid the threat of the coronavirus, the figure could reach as high as 60-70 lakh between January 8 and 16 when the fair would be held this time, an official said. During her two-day visit to the island, Banerjee will be meeting senior officers to review the preparations made for the congregation, the official said.
"She will also be inaugurating three new helipads at the island," he said.

A fishing boat capsized after hitting a rock in the Arabian Sea off the Palghar coast in Maharashtra, district officials on Wednesday said adding that all 15 people onboard were rescued by fishermen on other boats in the vicinity. The incident took place at around 6 pm on Monday near Boisar Murbe village, district disaster control room chief Vivekanand Kadam said. He said the fishing boat 'Jay Sagarika' hit the rock at 55 nautical miles from the Palghar coast and it started sinking.

A juvenile male was killed and a second male was wounded in a shooting outside an Indianapolis shopping mall Tuesday night, police said. The shooting occurred just before 8 pm outside the Castleton Square Mall on the city's far northeast side, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said. The wounded victim was in stable condition, police said. A suspect was in custody, police said. An altercation occurred before the gunfire, police said. In July 2021, one person was shot inside the mall. At least two shootings occurred at Greenwood Park Mall, south of the city, in 2022. 

President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House later this month for economic and security consultations, the US administration announced Tuesday. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the January 13 meeting will include discussions of North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, amid concerns over the potential for another nuclear test by the reclusive nation. Also on the agenda: economic issues, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, climate change and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

The Bihar government on Tuesday approved a proposal to release certain categories of prisoners serving sentences in various jails of the state, on the occasion of this year's Republic Day and Independence Day celebrations The decision to this effect was taken in a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The proposal was brought to the cabinet by the state law department. "With the approval of this proposal, now the law department will initiate a process to identify such prisoners," Bihar Law Minister Shamim Ahmad told PTI. A state-level screening committee of the home department has been instructed to review records of prisoners and identify eligible ones languishing in different jails in Bihar. The committee has received recommendations from certain prison authorities in this regard, the minister said. The panel will examine them while ensuring that hardened criminals, repeat offenders and those who fall into prohibited categories are not considered for special remission, he clarified.

Union Minister for Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju has laid the foundation of the Dalai Lama Centre for Tibetan and Indian Ancient Wisdom in Bodh Gaya in Bihar. Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama was present on the occasion on Tuesday. Rijiju said it will be a global centre for conducting education, research and other programmes to promote the study of ancient Indian thought and wisdom. The Dalai Lama has made India his home and has committed himself to helping revive awareness of ancient Indian wisdom, the minister said. The Tibetan spiritual leader thanked the central and Bihar governments for their support to the project. He said, "We are all gathered here out of our admiration for the Buddha's teachings. We all wish for peace, so we need to cultivate compassion and the practice of doing no harm."

A survey for the construction of a corridor around the Banke Bihari Temple began on Tuesday, officials said. "The survey would be completed by the week-end," said Anunaya Jha, the head of the committee formed to survey the area for the development of a corridor in front of Bankey Bihari Temple in Vrindavan. He said project details including the cost of development, land cost etc would be submitted to the district magistrate once the estimates are prepared. He said that on December 20, 2022, in a writ petition related to the Banke Bihari Temple, the High Court had ordered the district administration to submit a development plan with estimated costs on January 17, 2023.

An 18-year-old woman was allegedly kidnapped and raped in Jehanabad Kotwali police station area here, police said on Tuesday. She was also severely beaten up and given poison when she resisted, police said. According to a complaint filed with Pilibhit Superintendent of Police Atul Sharma, the incident happened in the early hours of January 1 when the woman's neighbour Kamal forcibly took her to his house by gagging her mouth and allegedly raped her. When she raised an alarm, she was badly beaten up and forced to drink poison, police said, quoting the complaint. It also alleged when the woman's family members reached the house of the accused, his family members thrashed her mother badly. She also alleged the Jehanabad police did not listen to her complaint initially.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra will arrive in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua district on January 20 and will conclude in Srinagar summer capital on January 30, a senior party leader said on Tuesday. Rajya Sabha MP and party in-charge J and K Rajni Patil said the Congress is focused on making the Yatra successful because it is the largest mass mobilisation programme being undertaken in independent India. The Congress has put its heart, mind and soul in it, she added. Patil, accompanied by J-K Congress president Vikar Rasool Wani, AICC joint secretary Manoj Yadav, coordinator of Bharat Jodo Yatra in J-K G A Mir and party senior leader Tariq Hamid Karra, visited Lakhanpur to review the measures being undertaken for the Yatra.

The AAP government's ambitious Rozgar Budget (2022-23) presented in Delhi Assembly is yet to take shape, according to the outcome budget report of the government for first two quarters of the current financial year. Several of the schemes announced by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the Assembly for employment generation, including the food truck policy, market redevelopment, Rozgar Bazar portal, Delhi Bazar, among others, are at various levels of approvals, said the outcome budget report of first two quarters (April June and July-September) of 2022-23. Under the Rozgar Bazar portal for which Rs 12 crore was allocated in the budget, the cumulative number of employers and job seekers registered by September 2022, was 65,617 and 15,48,227, respectively. As against 10,31,277 cumulative job vacancies posted on the portal, the details of placements were not shared in the report.

Ruslan Khasbulatov, who led a rebellion against Russia's first post-Soviet president, has died. He was 80. Khasbulatov's death was reported Tuesday by Russian state television. An ethnic Chechen, Khasbulatov was elected speaker of the parliament of the Russian Federation shortly before the Soviet collapse. Initially, he was a staunch ally of Russia's President Boris Yeltsin and firmly stood behind him during a botched August 1991 coup staged by hardline members of the Soviet leadership. After the Soviet breakup in December 1991, relations between Yeltsin and Khasbulatov grew increasingly strained as they argued over economic policies and other issues.