Breaking News, May 15 | HIGHLIGHTS

The suspense over the new Karnataka chief minister intensified on Monday as state Congress president D K Shivakumar cancelled his visit to the national capital citing health issues after he and Siddaramaiah, both frontrunners for the top post, were called by the central leadership for discussions.
The three central observers, who interacted with party MLAs on their choice for the CM's post after the Congress Legislature Party meeting on Sunday, briefed party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and submitted their report.

Three minor boys, the youngest of them 11 years old, allegedly strangled their 12-year-old friend with a cycle chain, smashed his head with a stone and slit his throat with a sharp knife in a village in Seoni district of Madhya Pradesh, police said on Monday.
Later, they stuffed the body in a polythene bag and dumped it on a pile of pebbles near their house. The crime came to light after a woman spotted the blood-stained bag and informed the police.

After jailed former Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain complained that he was feeling depressed and lonely, the Tihar prison administration on Monday said it will seek the help of a physiologist and provide the AAP leader with necessary treatment if required.
Jain consulted a physiologist inside the jail clinic who suggested him to be around people and have social interactions after he mentioned that was he feeling depressed and lonely, they said.

A video of a group of villagers in this district on Monday allegedly refusing to pay their electricity bill citing the pre-poll promise of the Congress to give 200 units for free has gone viral.

Among the five 'guarantees' that the party announced is the offer of 200 units of power a month to every household.

During campaigning for the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka, the Congress repeatedly said it would give a stamp of approval for these 'guarantees' in the maiden cabinet meeting on the first-day of it assuming power in the State.

 With the arrest of seven suspects, the Noida Police on Monday claimed to have busted a gang that used toe prints of people to create forged Aadhaar cards which were furnished by several people for fraudulently taking bank loans.
While the exact scale of the fraud and the number of people who used such forged Aadhaar cards were yet to be ascertained, the police said the loan amount ran into crores.

Chief Minister aspirant and Karnataka state Congress president D K Shivakumar on Monday cancelled his Delhi trip, hours after confirming he would be flying to the national capital, fuelling speculations that all is not well in the ruling camp over the CM contender issue.

He cited health reasons for the change in his travel plans.

The senior Congress leader is locked in an intense power struggle with Siddaramaiah over who will lead the party-led government, after Congress stormed to power by winning 135 seats in the May 10 elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly.

The Rajasthan government on Monday transferred and posted a total of 74 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers and six district collectors.
According to a transfer list of 59 officers issued by the personnel department, the districts whose collectors were changed include Barmer, Alwar, Ajmer, Jhunjhunu and Bharatpur. Along with this, the divisional commissioner of Kota and Ajmer has also been changed.
Senior IAS officer Veenu Gupta has been posted as Additional Chief Secretary Industries and Commerce. Dr. Subodh Agrawal as Additional Chief Secretary, Public Health Engineering, Delhi and Shubhra Singh as Additional Chief Secretary, Medical and Health Department.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Monday told the Supreme Court that it was not investigating the Adani group since 2016 and termed such claims “factually baseless".
The investigation mentioned in its earlier affidavit pertained to the issuance of Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) by 51 Indian firms and no listed company of Adani group was among them, submitted the market regulator which is seeking an extension of six months to complete a probe into allegations of stock price manipulation by the Gautam Adani-led group.
On May 12, lawyer Prashant Bhushan had opposed the plea for the extension of time, saying SEBI was seized of some kind of investigation in the matter since 2016.

3i Infotech-led consortium NuRe Bharat Network and RailTel on Monday unveiled PIPOnet mobile app which aims to provide all services, including e-ticketing, travel, stay reservations, and entertainment apps, for railway passengers.
NuRe Bharat Network CEO Sax Krishna said that the app will become available on Android Play Store in the next two weeks.

Assets worth about Rs 457 crore have been frozen under the anti-money laundering law as part of an investigation against "lottery king" Santiago Martin in a case linked to alleged loss of over Rs 900 crore to the Sikkim government by fraudulent sale of the state lottery in Kerala, the Enforcement Directorate said on Monday.
The agency carried out fresh raids against Martin and his family members in Coimbatore and Chennai, and the official premises of a company called 'Future Gaming Solutions India Private Limited' in Coimbatore on May 11 and 12.
Future Gaming Solutions India Pvt Ltd is the master distributor of Sikkim lotteries and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating Martin, known as "lottery king" in Tamil Nadu since 2019. 

 Amid speculations about the number of MLAs supporting him and senior party colleague Siddaramaiah for the post of Karnataka Chief Minister, state Congress president D K Shivakumar on Monday said his strength is 135, as under his presidency, the party won the said number of seats in the Assembly polls.
He said he along with Siddaramaiah has been called to Delhi by party high command and that he will be going there late due to personal commitments.
The Congress central leadership will be deciding on the new Chief Minister, after its observers submitted a report on the opinion of the MLAs which they collected in the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting in Bengaluru on Sunday.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that her government will challenge the Calcutta High Court order cancelling jobs of around 36,000 primary teachers in state-sponsored and -aided schools.
She also urged those teachers who lost their jobs and their family members not to be depressed as her government is with them.
The CM also alleged that those teachers lost their jobs because of the ongoing agitation of the state government employees demanding a hike in their DA and bringing it at par with the central government staff.

The Supreme Court on Monday deferred to August 14 its hearing on CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat's plea related to non-registration of FIRs against BJP MPs Anurag Thakur and Pravesh Verma for their alleged hate speeches in connection with the anti-CAA protests.
Karat has challenged a Delhi High Court's order dismissing a petition against a trial court's refusal to order registration of FIRs against the two BJP leaders.
A bench headed by justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna posted the matter for further hearing in august after advocate Rajat Nair, appearing for the Delhi Police commissioner, sought time to file his response on the plea.
The top court on April 17 had issued a notice and sought the response of the Delhi Police.

 Was the promise to ban Bajrang Dal in the Karnataka Congress manifesto ahead of the elections aimed at consolidation of Muslim votes?

Multiple Congress leaders including those who were in the manifesto drafting committee confirmed that the proposal was inserted at the last minute so that the BJP makes it a major campaign issue.

The Congress in its manifesto for elections to the 224-member Assembly in Karnataka said it was committed to taking firm and decisive action against individuals and organisations spreading hatred amongst communities on grounds of caste and religion.

 Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had a hearty laugh on Monday when person a who attended his public interaction programme turned out to be his namesake. The septuagenarian leader was briskly dispensing with complaints of citizens, sometimes referring them to a senior official. On some occasions, he was himself making calls. When the turn of a young man from Madhubani named Nitish Kumar Mandal came, he cast a glance at his papers and burst into laughter. "You have adopted my name?" the CM laughed out aloud and recalled that in his early days he hardly found anyone with the same moniker. "But now it is different. The name seems to have become quite popular," he said.

 The special court in Pune on Monday extended till May 16 the police custody of DRDO scientist Pradeep Kurulkar, arrested on charges of providing confidential information to a Pakistani agent.
Seeking an extension of Kurulkar's custody, the prosecution said his mobile phone needs to be analysed. "Police had to open the mobile phone with the help of the accused as they couldn't do so on their own," the prosecution told the judge.
 

Two persons were killed and one injured at separate places as a strong dust storm swept this Uttar Pradesh district, hitting power supply and traffic movement, police said on Monday.
Saroj Devi (45) died when an iron plank fell on her while she was on the roof of her house in Dharwar village here during a severe dust storm on Sunday late evening, Jaswantnagar Station House Officer (SHO) Manoj Kumar Solanki said.
A 10-year-old boy, Ravi Kumar, died in Nagla Lakshi village here after a tree he had taken shelter under got uprooted by a gust of wind and fell on him during the storm, Solanki said.

Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramiah left for Delhi from his residence in Bengaluru to meet top leadership as the Congress engages in the process of picking the next chief minister after the party's emphatic win in the state.

A medical student suffered head injuries in a scuffle between two groups over 'The Kerala story' movie at a hostel here, sparking protests in Government Medical College (GMC) with participants demanding an inquiry and appropriate action against culprits.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday conducted raids in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama and Shopian in the case of terror funding. READ MORE...

Action initiated against Superintendent of Jail No. 7, Tihar Jail, for transferring two prisoners to the cell of Former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, reported ANI.

U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday during the G7 leaders' summit in Hiroshima, the White House said on Sunday.